UAE handball team heads to Asian Championship in Kuwait

January 13, 2026 / 12:28 AM

Sharjah 24: The UAE national handball team will depart tomorrow morning, Tuesday, for Kuwait to participate in the 22nd Asian Men's Handball Championship. The tournament begins next Thursday and runs until January 29 at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Complex.

Group stage matches

The national team is drawn in Group C, alongside host nation Kuwait, Hong Kong, and India. They will begin their campaign against Hong Kong on January 15, face India on January 17, and conclude the group stage with a match against Kuwait on January 19.

Team delegation

The UAE delegation will be led by Abdul Salam Rabie Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the UAE Handball Federation. The delegation includes Ali Al Marzouqi, Director of National Teams; Faisal Dawood, Team Administrator; Rolando Freitas, Technical Director; Khaled Ahmed and Tariq Ibrahim, Assistant Coaches; Mohammed Sassi, Goalkeeping Coach; Mohammed Imam, Performance Analyst; Tamer Abdul Latif, Physiotherapist; and Ali Al Hammadi, Photographer.

Team roster

The 18-player squad comprises Mohammed Ismail, Abdulrahman Khamis, Abdullah Awad, Ahmed Hilal, Rashid Saeed, Marzouq Ahmed, Mahmoud Fayez, Mohammed Afifi, Tariq Hassan, Ibrahim Al-Qurs, Mubarak Abdullah, Saif Al-Ansari, Saud Bilal, Ahmed Abdullah, Waleed Khalid, Hamad Abdullah, Hilal Jihad, and Saeed Khalfan.

Preparations ahead of the championship

The UAE team completed an intensive preparation program, including overseas training camps in Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. During these camps, they played seven friendly matches—two against Oman, two against Qatar, and one each against Iraq, Japan, and Saudi Arabia—to enhance their technical and physical readiness for the continental competition.