HANDBALL – BAHRAIN were yesterday drawn in a tough group for the preliminary round of the Arab Handball Cup 2025.
The nine-team tournament is scheduled to take place May 4 to 12 in Kuwait City, Kuwait, and the Bahrainis are set to compete with a youthful squad.
They will be taking on African powerhouses Egypt and Iraq in the competition’s opening stage in Group A. Group B is composed of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia; while Group C features hosts Kuwait, the UAE, and Morocco.
Yesterday’s draw was held in Kuwait City and it was conducted by the Arab Handball Federation along with the Kuwait Handball Association.
Following a single round-robin, each of the three group winners will move on to the semi-finals, where they will be joined by the best second-placed team.
Along with the gold medal game, a bronze medal contest is also expected to be held. The final tournament schedule has yet to be released.
Bahrain will be competing in this year’s Arab Handball Cup under the supervision of their recently signed Serbian head coach Predrag Petljanski.
Petljanski began the senior men’s national team’s training yesterday at the Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF) Arena in Um Al Hassam. BHF president Ali Issa attended the session and spoke with team members.
This year’s Arab Handball Cup is the 10th edition of the event, which has been revived after a long hiatus, having been last held more than 20 years ago in 2002, when Bahrain won the title for the first and only time.
The event also acts as a preparatory tournament for the participating continental sides who will be battling it out in the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship, which will be held in January and February next year.
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