National team player warms up with stretches before training.

KUWAIT CITY, April 23: Icelandic head coach Aron Kristjansson, along with his Danish assistant Ansen, has named a 23-player squad for Kuwait’s national handball team ahead of the 10th Arab Cup for Men’s National Teams, which will be hosted in Kuwait from May 4 to 12. The tournament coincides with the International Handball Federation Week and will feature the participation of nine Arab countries.

The selected players are: Hassan Safar, Abdulaziz Al-Dhafiri, Mohammed Bouyabes, Abdulaziz Al-Shammari, Haidar Dashti, Fawaz Al-Mishari, Saif Al-Adwani, Fawaz Mubarak, Abdullah Al-Khamis, Abdulaziz Salmeen, Saleh Al-Raghib, Hamoud Al-Adwani, Mohammed Al-Hindal, Abdulaziz Dhaif, Abdulrahman Al-Enezi, Mishaal Al-Harbi, Hussein Al-Mutawa, Mohammed Al-Aryan, Ibrahim Dhaif, Youssef Dhaif, Mohammed Ghadanfar, Mohammed Al-Sanea, and Abdulrahman Al-Shammari.

The national team, also known as the "Blue Handball Team," kicked off its training yesterday and will continue preparations through an internal training camp until the tournament begins.

Meanwhile, in local handball action, Qadsia Club topped the First Division League standings after a dominant 32-21 win over Al-Sahel in the 14th round, held at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Complex. In another match, Fahaheel defeated Yarmouk 35-28.

First Division Handball League Standings:

Qadsia: 26 points

Al-Nasr: 22 points

Al-Qurain: 20 points

Fahaheel: 16 points

Khaitan: 14 points

Yarmouk: 6 points

Al-Tadamon: 5 points

Al-Sahel: 0 points

Following the latest round of matches, the First Division Handball League will be temporarily suspended to allow the national team to fully focus on preparations for the Arab Cup.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff