MANAMA, Jan 11: Kuwait set to kick off its journey in the 21st Asian Handball Championship, also known as the "2025 World Cup Qualifiers," as it faces Oman at 5:00 pm. The match will take place at the Khalifa Sports Hall in the Bahraini capital, Manama, marking the beginning of the first group matches.

In the same group, Qatar will compete against China Taipei at 1:00 in the afternoon. Meanwhile, in the second group, the New Zealand team will go head-to-head with its Iranian counterpart at 3:00 in the afternoon. In the same group, China is scheduled to play against Korea at 7:00 in the evening.

The tournament, which commenced yesterday, will see the top four ranked teams qualify for the 2025 World Cup finals. The finals are scheduled to take place in Croatia, Denmark, and Norway from January 14 to February 2 of the following year.

In preparation for the championship, Kuwait engaged in an external camp in Slovenia and Croatia, featuring four trial matches, including two against the Slovenia Olympic team, and one each against the Saudi national team and the Georgia national team.

Led by coach Saeed Hegazy, the technical staff of the Kuwaiti national team includes Mohamed Masoudane, physical trainer Issam Lahiani, physiotherapist Mohamed Mahdi, and goalkeeper coach Ayman Al-Sheikh.

With an ambition to secure a spot in the semi-finals and qualify for the World Cup, the Kuwaiti team aims to break a 24-year absence from the prestigious tournament. The last participation of the  in the World Cup dates back to 2009 in Croatia.

The technical staff relies on the players' accumulated experience gained through their involvement with the national team, as well as their contributions to Kuwait Club and Al-Qadisiya Club in foreign competitions. In September, Kuwait clinched the third-place position and a bronze medal in the Asian Games in China. Additionally, they participated in the qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics in Qatar.

It is noteworthy that the Kuwaiti national handball team has qualified for the World Cup eight times, in 1982, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009.

Khaled El Anzi

Al-Seyassah /Arab Times Staff