DOHA, Oct 25: Kuwait national handball team are set to face UAE for seventh place. The showdown will take place at 1:00 pm at the Qatar Football Association hall in Al Duhail, marking the conclusion of Kuwait’s participation in the Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Kuwait wrapped up their matches in the second group of the preliminary round by, securing a victory against Kazakhstan, following three losses to Iran, Bahrain, and Japan.

Meanwhile, the teams of Saudi Arabia and Iran are competing for fifth and sixth places, and the ninth and tenth places will be determined by matches between China and Kazakhstan, with the national team playing for the fifth and sixth places against India.

Today’s semi-finals will see Qatar facing Bahrain, and Japan squaring off against Korea. The winners of these matches will vie for the championship in the final match next Saturday, with the champions securing direct qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics, while the second-place team will enter a playoff against European teams. Notably, Kuwait competed in the Paris qualifiers without several key players in the backline due to injuries. Among the absentees were Saif Al-Adwani, Muhammad Amer, Abdullah Al-Gharabally and Fawaz Al-Mishari, in addition to the injured goalkeeper Ali Safar. These absences posed a significant challenge for the “Blue” team, which had recently earned a bronze medal in the 19th Asian Games held in China.

The technical staff is working diligently to rehabilitate the injured players and prepare them for the Asian Cup qualifying tournament for the 2025 World Championship. This event is scheduled to take place in the Kingdom of Bahrain from January 14 to January 25.

Before the Asian Championship, it’s possible that the team’s lineup will undergo some changes, with new players coming in and others departing, in line with the strategic vision and requirements of the team under the guidance of the Algerian coach Saeed Hegazy.

Khaled El Anzi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff