Kristjansson returns for Bahrain's Asiad handball bid

TDT | Manama                                   

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain have brought back Icelandic coach Aron Kristjansson to guide the senior men's national handball team at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games in China.

Kristjansson arrived in the Kingdom this week to begin training with the team ahead of the multi-sport Asiad, which is scheduled for September 23 to October 8, featuring the continent’s top sportsmen and women participating in 482 events across 40 sports.

Handball is one of the 19 sports Bahrain will be taking part in. The others are athletics, boxing, judo, weightlifting, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, rowing, shooting, cycling, table tennis, taekwondo, sailing, basketball, football, volleyball, E-sports, cricket and equestrian.

In the men’s handball tournament, Bahrain have been drawn in Group C along with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. There are four groups in all in this phase, each with three teams, except for Group D, which has four.

Group A features China, Kuwait and Thailand; Group B comprises Qatar, South Korea and Hong Kong; and Group D includes Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mongolia and Japan. The Kingdom's handball squad are practising at the Bahrain Handball Association arena in Um Al Hassam.

The nationals are hoping to do one better than the previous edition of the Asian Games in 2018, when they came away with the silver medals in the men’s handball tournament. The Bahrainis lost to their counterparts from Qatar 27- 32 in the final in extra-time. It was the second medal for Bahrain handball at any Asiad, having claimed bronze in 2014.

The handball event of the Hangzhou Asian Games will be held in Zhejiang Gong - shang University Sports Centre and Zhejiang Normal University Xiaoshan Gymnasium from September 24 to October 5. The final will be in Zhejiang Gongshang.