Kuwait chases main round spot in crucial South Korea clash

Yousuf Madouh makes a goal attempt during Kuwait’s Asian Junior Handball Championship match.

BEIJING, July 19: Kuwait faces a key challenge today when it meets South Korea in the fifth round of the preliminary stage at the 19th Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship, which serves as a qualifier for the World Championship and is being hosted by China.

Kuwait opened its campaign with a defeat to Iran before responding strongly with a big win over India. It then continued its battle for points with a difficult encounter against Japan yesterday as it looked to strengthen its position in the group.

Kuwait will be aiming for another impressive display against the Korean side to underline the development of Kuwaiti handball and boost its hopes of reaching the main round of the tournament.

After today’s match, the team will have two more games remaining in the preliminary stage, facing Qatar tomorrow before finishing its campaign against the UAE on July 22.

The Kuwait squad features 18 players: Hassan Mundhir, Obaid Al-Shammari, Abdulrahman Al-Hashel, Hussein Boland, Salem Al-Mahmoud, Yousuf Madouh, Hussein Muzaini, Mohammed Faisal, Yaqoub Hassan, Abdul Latif Salmeen, Hassan Rajab, Abdulwahab Al-Mutawa, Hassan Boland, Saad Al-Khamis, Faisal Al-Enezi, Hussein Sami, Khairallah Abdullah, and Abdul Latif Al-Wahib.

The team is led by Danish head Coach Hani Jensen, with Saud Mufreh as assistant coach. Yassin Idrissi oversees goalkeeper training, while Yousef Al-Shahin serves as team administrator.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff