Players in action.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 2: The quarter-final matches of the 56th edition of the Handball Federation Cup, postponed from last season, will conclude today at the Saad Al-Abdullah Complex Hall. Al-Nasr will face Al-Arabi at 6:30 PM, following a highly anticipated clash between Kazma and Qadsia at 5:00 PM. The quarter-finals began yesterday, with Kuwait taking on Burgan, and Al-Sulaibikhat playing Al-Salmiya.

The Handball Cup Championship for the 2023-2024 season follows a knockout format. The semi-finals are scheduled for t Saturday, with the final match set for next Monday. The tournament draw divided the 14 participating teams into two groups. Al-Qadsiya advanced directly to the quarter-finals as the leader of Group 2, bypassing the preliminary round. Kazma, on the other hand, qualified by dominating Al-Sahel in the preliminary round with an impressive 42-15 victory. Al-Nasr secured its spot by defeating Al-Tadamon 44-24, while Al-Arabi edged past Khaitan in a close 27-26 win.

The match between Al-Sulaibikhat and Al-Salmiya promises to be tightly contested, as both teams are evenly matched. Al-Sulaibikhat is coached by Walid Fayrouz and boasts the professional Estonian duo Karl Tom and Denir Janima. The team prepared for the season with an external training camp in Cairo, where it played several friendlies. Al-Salmiya, coached by Yaqoub Al-Moussawi, recently held a camp in Qatar and finished second in the Arab Clubs Championship in Kuwait.

The other quarter-final between Al-Qadsiya and Kazma is expected to be a thrilling encounter. Al-Qadsiya, runner-up in the last league and fourth in the Arab Clubs Championship prepared for this tournament with a camp in Qatar under Croatian coach Slavko Klosa. It will rely on Montenegrin professional Vladan Lipovina and Egyptian Abdullah Farouk. Kazma, led by Serbian coach Bozo Rudic, prepared locally and fields Tunisian professionals Anwar Ben Abdullah and Mohammed Farad, who also played alongside goalkeeper Abdulaziz Al-Dhafiri in the Arab Championship with Al-Salmiya and Al-Hashd Al-Iraqi.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff