Kuwait handball team steps up Asian Games preparations in Slovenia

Kuwaiti player is well defended by the Saudis during the Asian Championship preliminary round.

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: Kuwait’s senior national handball team is intensifying its preparations at a training camp in Slovenia ahead of the Asian Games in Japan, which begin on September 18.

Head coach Aron Kristjanssen is working to raise the squad’s physical and technical levels through an increasingly demanding training program to have the players in peak condition when the competition begins.

The coaching staff is also using a series of friendly matches to assess the players, evaluate their response to tactical instructions, and determine the final squad and lineup for the Asian Games.

The national team is scheduled to return to Kuwait on September 3 and will continue training locally before flying to Japan on September 9. The team will hold a nine-day camp there before beginning its Asian Games campaign.

Kuwait has been drawn in Group B with Bahrain, Iran, Kazakhstan and South Korea. The Blue will open against Iran on September 19, before facing South Korea on September 21 and Kazakhstan on September 22. They will conclude the preliminary round against Bahrain on September 23.

National team director Faisal Sawan said the players have shown encouraging form during the camp and expressed confidence in the squad’s ability to deliver a strong performance in Japan.

“We have a group of players capable of turning our ambitions into reality. We hope they can guide us through the group stage and compete for a place among the top three teams,” Sawan said.

The 11th Asian Youth Handball Championship in Jordan concludes today with the final round of placement matches and the tournament final.

Kuwait’s youth team will take on Saudi Arabia at 2 p.m. at Princess Sumaya Hall in Amman in the fifth-place playoff. Both teams missed out on the top-four spots that secure qualification for the World Championship.

Kuwait previously defeated Saudi Arabia 30-28 in the preliminary round.

Jordan will meet Uzbekistan in the seventh-place playoff, while Syria secured ninth place after defeating India 49-24, leaving India at the bottom of the standings.

The semifinals saw Qatar defeat South Korea, while Bahrain overcame Iran. Qatar and Bahrain will contest the Asian title, with South Korea and Iran meeting for the bronze medal.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff