Bahrainis beat Iraq in handball friendly

TDT | Manama                                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national handball team defeated their counterparts from Iraq 34-27 in their first of two friendly meetings in the Kingdom this week, played at the Bahrain Handball Association arena in Um Al Hassam.

The Bahrainis are utilising these tune-ups as part of their preparations for the 21st Asian Men’s Handball Championship. The tournament is set to be hosted by Bahrain from 11 to 25 January next year.

Bahrain and Iraq are scheduled to face off again tonight in a second warm-up. The nationals are also expected to play Morocco here before they travel to Nantes in France for an international friendly tournament from 4 to 6 January that also features Brazil and Tunisia.

The upcoming continental competition also acts as a qualifier for 2025 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship. Head coach Aron Kristjansson has named 26 players on his initial squad for the event, led by top stars Hussain Al Sayyad, Mohammed Abdulhussain, Mohammed Habib Nasser, Mohammed Habib Ahmed, Ali Mirza and Mohammed Ali, who did not participate in the first friendly against Iraq.

The national team’s other players include Ali Eid, Abdulla Al Zaimour, Mahdi Saad, Mujtaba Al Zaimour, Hassan Mirza, Mohammed Mirza, Hassan Shehab, Hussain Al Samaheeji, Hussain Mahfouz, Mohammed Hameed, Ali Mahmood, Hussain Abdulla Makki, Hesham Ahmed, Ali Al Asheeri, Hassan Madan, Muntaz Ebrahim, Ahmed Jaal, Ahmed Redha, Jassim Khamis, and Qassim Qambar.

A total of 16 nations are competing in the Asian championship, with the top five securing places at the worlds. Bahrain are in Group D along with the UAE, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan for the preliminary round. Group A features defending champions Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Chinese Taipei.

Group B includes Iran, South Korea, China and New Zealand; and Group C is composed of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, India and Japan. Bahrain is hosting the Asian tournament for the fourth time in its history. It previously also staged the event in 2016, 2014 and 1993. The Bahrainis have never won the title, but have claimed the silver medals five times in the past and also won the bronze medal once.