Bahrain youth handball team set for Slovenia camp

TDT | Manama              

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s under-19 national handball team will hold an overseas training camp in Slovenia in preparation for the 10th IHF Men’s Youth Handball World Championship.

The global tournament is scheduled to be held August 2 to 13 in Croatia, with 32 national teams taking part. The nationals are scheduled to leave for their camp on Monday next week, before heading directly to Croatia for the worlds.

During their stay in Slovenia, they will play three international tune-ups against Japan, Chile and the host Slovenians. The team may also play a fourth friendly, if required, according to team officials.

Bahrain Olympic Committee vice-president His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa visited the team during a local practice and wished them the best in the upcoming International Handball Federation (IHF) competition.

The Bahrainis are coached by Icelandic tactician Maksim Akbachev, and they have been training over the past several weeks for the worlds. They also played a number of international friendly games against their counterparts from Egypt. This year’s youth handball worlds will be its first edition to feature a 32-team field.

It will also be the first edition of the competition since 2019, as the one scheduled in 2021 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are eight groups of four teams each for the preliminary round.