Bahrain handball team in Hungary camp

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

An 18-player Bahrain senior men’s national handball team are currently in Hungary for an overseas training camp being held as part of their preparations for the 2022 Asian Men’s Handball Championship. The squad is coached by Icelandic tactician Aron Kristjansson, and it is spearheaded by skipper Hussain Al Sayyad.

The other players include Mohammed Abdulhussain, Mohammed Mirza, Bilal Basham, Ali Eid, Mahdi Saad, Mohammed Habib Nasser, Hassan Al Samahiji, Mohammed Ali Abdulredha, Abdulla Ali, Hussain Mahfouz, Mohammed Habib, Ahmed Al Maqabi, Ali Mirza, Ali Abdulqader, Ahmed Jalal, Qasim Qambar (Barbar) and Hisham Ahmed Issa.

The Bahrainis are in Group D for the continental championship alongside Uzbekistan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Japan. There are 17 national teams in all in the fray, and games will be played in the Saudi cities of Dammam and Qatif.

The competition also acts as a continental qualifying event for the world championship in 2023. Bahrain open their campaign against the Uzbeks on January 18.

They then face their counterparts from Hong Kong on January 19, before taking on Vietnam the next day. They then have a rest day on January 21 and then play their last group match against Japan the following evening.

Bahrain must finish in the top two in their group to make it through to the main round. The bottom three squads face off in the consolation bracket for the Martyr Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah Cup.

Group A comprises South Korea, Kuwait, Jordan and Singapore; Group B features hosts Saudi, Iran, Australia and India; and Group C consists of defending champions Qatar, the UAE, Iraq and Oman.

In the previous Asian championship held in January of 2020, the Bahrainis finished fourth overall. Bahrain has never won the title but was runners-up four times in the last six editions and bronze-medallists once.