KUWAIT CITY, Oct 9: Kuwait national handball team is gearing up for their journey to the Qatari capital, Doha, scheduled for next Thursday. They are heading there to participate in the Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics, hosted by Qatar from October 18th to the 28th. In the tournament’s draw, Kuwait is placed in the second group alongside Bahrain, Iran, Japan, and Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, the first group includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the Emirates, India, and China. The preliminary round matches for Kuwait are as follows: they will face Iran on the 19th of this month, followed by Japan on the 21st, Bahrain the next day, and Kazakhstan on the 24th of the same month. The tournament’s champion secures a spot in Paris, while the second and third-place teams will advance to the global playoff. It has been reported that Saeed Hegazy, the coach of the Algerian national team, has included four players on the team for the Paris 2024 qualifiers: Ibrahim Al-Amir, Hussein Al-Kandari, Mahdi Al-Haddad, and Muhammad Al-Erian.

These players will serve as replacements for the injured Fawaz Al-Mishari, Saif Al- Adwani, Muhammad Amer, and Fawaz Al-Shammari. Recently, our national handball team participated in the Asian Games, which concluded just two days ago in China. Kuwait secured a third-place finish and a bronze medal, showcasing their exceptional skills with victories over Iran, Korea, and Japan, despite losses to Bahrain and Qatar. The players will commence their training today and tomorrow at the Martyr Fahd Al-Ahmad Center in Daiya and will set off on their journey on Thursday morning.

Khaled El Anzi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff