Al Najma set for Asian clubs handball

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Bahrain champions Al Najma will be flying the Kingdom’s flag in the 25th Asian Men’s Club League Handball Championship.

The tournament, organised by the Asian Handball Federation (AHF), is scheduled to be held in Isfahan, Iran from June 1 to 11.

The winner of the competition will qualify for the 17th IHF Men’s Super Globe, to be held from October 17 to 23 in Saudi Arabia.

Najma are one of 11 clubs taking part in the event.

The others are Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC and Shahid Shameli Kazeroon Club of Iran; defending champions Kuwait SC and Kazma SC of Kuwait; Junior Club of China; Tashkent Club of Uzbekistan; Al Duhail and Al Rayyan of Qatar; Oman Club of Oman; and Al Jaish of Syria.

The draw for the tournament is set to take place today at the AHF headquarters in Kuwait City.

Representatives from the participating teams will be attending the ceremony.

Najma were recently crowned champions of the 2022/2023 Khalid bin Hamad Bahrain Handball League while they also claimed the silver medals in the 39th Gulf Clubs Men’s Handball Championship, held in the Kingdom. Najma also took part in last year’s Asian clubs competition, which was held in Hyderabad, India.

The Bahrainis had to settle for the silver medals following a 23-28 loss against Kuwait SC in the tournament final.

The Kuwaitis had also beaten Najma in the Gulf clubs title-decider last month. Last year’s competition saw Najma players come away with individual accolades.

Goalkeeper Mohammed Abdulhussain, Ali Eid, Mahdi Saad and Mohammed Habib were all among those honoured amongst the best players of the tournament.

Najma will be hoping to go one better this year and claim the Asian title they were denied in Hyderabad.

Cup final Meanwhile, Najma will be looking to secure a league-andcup double this national handball season when they face off with Al Dair in the final of the Bahrain Handball Association Cup, slated for Saturday night at 9.30pm.

The match will be played at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town. Najma barged into the final following a resounding 31-24 victory over Al Ahli, while Al Dair claimed their place after defeating Al Shabab 23-21 in their semi-final encounter.

Najma are gunning for their third successive title in the competition, having won the previous two editions. They also recently completed an unprecedented "four- peat" in the league.