Kuwait city: Saudi Arabia defeated Bahrain 23-21 on Sunday in a main-round match of the 22nd Asian Handball Championship - a qualifier for the 2027 World Championship in Germany, which continues in Kuwait through January 29. Despite the win, Saudi Arabia fell short of qualifying for the semifinals of the World Championship while Bahrain finished second in the group.
According to Kuwait News Agency, earlier, Qatar defeated the United Arab Emirates 25-20, while Emirati player Abdulrahman Khamis was named man of the match. With the completion of the round, Qatar topped the group and advanced alongside Bahrain to the semifinals, guaranteeing their qualification for the 2027 World Championship in Germany.
In other matches today, Japan edged Iraq 30-29 in Group One, while hosts Kuwait were scheduled to face South Korea later in the day in the same group.