AL NAJMA notched up their second win in a row in the 25th Asian Men’s Club League Handball Championship currently underway in Isfahan, Iran, when they defeated China’s Junior Club 38-27 yesterday in their third Group B game of the tournament.
The Bahraini club got off to a poor start on the opening day of the championship last Thursday when they lost to defending champions Kuwait Club 38-36 but then rallied in their second game on Friday to edge out Qatar’s Al Duhail Club, 28-26, to move to third place in the six-team table with two points and revive their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Yesterday’s win added another two points to Al Najma’s tally resulting in their climbing to second place in the table which now makes for very interesting reading because four teams – including the Bahraini domestic champions – are level on four points each.
Kuwait, who led the table with four points after the second round of matches on Friday, failed to add to their total after they collapsed to a 38-35 defeat yesterday to Al Duhail, who now also have four points from their three games.
The fourth team with the same number of points are Iran’s Shahid Shameli Kazeroon who defeated Uzbekistan’s RKOR Tashkent 39-34 to also register their second win in three games.
All six teams will return to action tomorrow after a mandated rest today, setting the stage for some high-octane contests with two places in Thursday’s semi-finals on the line.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Al Rayyan lead Group A with four points from consecutive wins in their opening two matches, with Kuwait’s Kazma Club, also on four points with two wins and a loss from their three matches, in second place because of goal difference.
Oman Club and Iran’s Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan, with two points each, are in third and fourth places, respectively, because of goal difference while India’s T-Sports Club languish in last place with no points after losing their first three games.
Al Najma’s next encounter is against Shahid Shameli Kazeroon tomorrow with their last game against RKOR Tashkent scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
This is the fourth time that the competition is being held in Iran, with Isfahan playing hosts for the third time.
The championship also serves as a qualification tournament for the 2023 International Handball Federation (IHF) Men’s Super Globe, with the winners heading to the 17th edition of that tournament scheduled for October this year in Saudi Arabia.
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