03/01/2026
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03/01/2026
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ZAGREB, Jan 3: Kuwait’s national men’s handball team kicks off its current training camp in Croatia with a friendly match against Algeria today. The team will then face Slovenia on January 6, Kosovo on January 8, and Georgia on January 10, before returning to Kuwait on January 11.
The team is preparing for the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship, which doubles as the World Cup 2027 qualifiers in Germany. Kuwait will host the tournament at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Complex from January 15 to 29. In the group stage, Kuwait has been drawn into Group 3 alongside the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and India. The other groups are:
Group 1: Oman, Qatar, South Korea
Group 2: Bahrain, Jordan, China, Iraq
Group 4: Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia
Preparation for the Asian Championship began with Kuwait’s participation in the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh last November. This was followed by an internal training camp in Kuwait, then a camp in Cairo where the team played two friendlies against Egypt, and now the ongoing camp in Slovenia and Croatia.
Handball Federation Secretary-General Qaid Al-Adwani, head of the Kuwaiti delegation in Croatia, confirmed that training is progressing according to the coaching staff’s plan. The Slovenia camp focused on intensive training, building team cohesion, and improving fitness, while the Croatia camp emphasized implementing the coach’s offensive and defensive strategies.
Al-Adwani praised the players for their dedication and discipline, highlighting their commitment to making the most of the camp ahead of the Asian Championship. He stressed that the team’s goal is to advance from the preliminary round to the main stage and compete for one of four World Cup qualification spots for 2027, expressing full confidence in the “Blue Hand” players to uphold Kuwaiti handball’s reputation on the continental stage.
By Khaled Al-Enezi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
