KUWAIT CITY, April 14: Kuwait youth handball teams have wrapped up their preparations for upcoming international tournaments. The junior team, born in 2006, is gearing up for the inaugural Gulf Youth Games in the Emirates from the 16th of this month to the 2nd of May. Meanwhile, the Azraq youth team is getting ready for the Arabic Youth tournament in Morocco scheduled from April 21 to 30.

The Training and National Teams Authority of the National Handball Federation, in collaboration with the Federation’s Board of Directors, has devised a comprehensive plan to ready the teams for these external competitions. Their objective is to vie for titles not only in the Gulf Games and the Arab Championship but also to participate in the Asian Junior Championship, also known as the "World Cup Qualifiers," set to take place in Tehran from August 25 to September 3. Kuwait will compete in Group D alongside Japan, China, and Jordan.

Assistant coach Hussein Habib commended the players' readiness, emphasizing their physical and technical preparedness for the Gulf Games. He highlighted the continuous training regimen implemented since last summer, encompassing sessions with the national team's technical staff, local club tournaments, and international friendlies.

Habib stressed the importance of accommodating the players' academic commitments, urging the Ministry of Education to ease their academic load to facilitate their representation of Kuwaiti sports on the international stage.

In handball league action, Al-Nasr secured a victory over Al-Sahel with a score of 42-29, while Al-Arabi triumphed over Al-Qurain with a score of 28-24, and Al-Salmiya dominated Al-Tadamon with a commanding 51-23 win. The round will conclude tomorrow with two matches: Al-Qadisiya versus Khaitan at 5:00 PM and Burgan against Yarmouk at 7:00 PM.

Khaled El Anzi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff