TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain has begun preparations for the men’s Asian qualification tournament to qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics.
The qualifiers are scheduled to be held in Doha from next Wednesday until October 28, and will see 11 countries competing for a coveted spot in the Olympic men’s handball tournament.
The Saudi senior national team is in qualifying group B of the qualifying tournament along with Iran, Kuwait, Japan and Kazakhstan.
Group A will include Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, UAE, India and China.
Bahrain made history by winning the last continental qualifying tournament and qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics for the first time.
It was also the first time in Bahrain’s history that the kingdom qualified for an Olympic team event.
Twelve teams will participate in next year’s Paris Olympics.
France is in the fray as host nation, as is reigning world champion Denmark.
Four spots will then be taken from the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The final six teams will then go on to win the 2024 IHF Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament to be held next March.
The second-place finisher in Doha will advance to one of three Olympic qualifying events involving a total of 12 countries.
Bahrain’s national handball team has begun final preparations for the Asian Qualifiers under head coach Aaron Kristianson, who just led the Bahrain team to a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games earlier this month.
The same team that participated in Asiad is currently on the roster, with five new players called up.
The Bahrain squad will be led by skipper Hussein Al Sayyad, star goalkeeper Mohamed Abdul-Hussein, Ali Eid, Mohamed Habib Nasser, Mohamed Habib Ahmed, Ali Mirza, Mohamed Mirza, Ahmed Fadel, Qasim Kambar, Hassan Madan, Mohamed Hameed Rabia, Hasan Mirza, Mahdi Saad, Mohamed Ali Abdulreda, Hesham Issa, Hassam Al Samahij.
The five additional members announced yesterday by the Bahrain Handball Association are Hassan Shehab, Mujtaba Zaymour, Muntaher Ebrahim, Jassim Khamis and Ahmed Reda.
Bahrain will begin their match against Kazakhstan in Doha on the opening day.
They will then play against Japan next Thursday, followed by a rest day.
Bahrain will only return to action against Kuwait on October 22nd, and after another day of rest, they will finish the qualifying round against Iran on October 24th.
After the single round robin, only the top two teams from the two groups will advance to the semi-finals scheduled for October 26th. The final and third place match will be held on October 28th.
Head coach Aaron Kristjansson…ready for the next challenge