Mishari Saiwan penetrates the Bahrain’s Al-Shabab defense.

DOHA, Nov 14: The Kuwait Club’s first handball team continued its strong performance in the 27th Asian Handball Clubs Championship in Doha, Qatar, which runs until the 23rd of this month. Kuwait Club achieved its second consecutive victory, defeating Bahrain’s Al-Shabab 33-25 in Group A. Previously; Kuwait Club narrowly won its first match against Sharjah (UAE) with a score of 30-29, placing them at the top of the group with four points.

Meanwhile, Kazma, the second Kuwaiti team in the tournament, experienced its second consecutive loss in Group B, falling to Qatar’s Al-Duhail. Kazma had earlier secured two points from an opening victory over Oman’s Ahli Sidab but later lost to Saudi Arabia's Al-Khaleej with a score of 24-36. With a rest day scheduled today, both Kuwaiti teams will return to action on Saturday for the fourth and penultimate round of the preliminary stage. Kazma is set to face Iran’s Mes Kerman, while other key matchups include Sharjah versus Al-Shabab and Al-Duhail against defending champion Al-Khaleej.

The preliminary round will conclude on Sunday, determining which teams advance to the quarterfinals. According to the tournament’s format, the top four teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals, with the fifth-place team in Group B being eliminated. In the quarterfinal matchups, teams from Group A will face their respective counterparts from Group B based on their standings.

In domestic league play, Al-Arabi defeated Al-Nasr at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Complex Hall, bringing Al-Arabi’s points to 10, while Al-Nasr remained at six points. Al-Salmiya maintained its league lead by overcoming Al-Yarmouk 33-28, Burgan defeated Al-Sulaibikhat 28-22, and Al-Tadamon earned its first league win against Al-Sahel, winning 3-1 in penalty throws after a 29-29 tie in regular time. Al-Salmiya now leads the standings with 12 points, three points ahead of second-place Burgan. The matches for Kuwait Club and Kazma were postponed due to their participation in the Asian Championship in Qatar.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff