From 20-30 November, India was the centre for Asian men’s club handball as the 20th Asian Men’s Club League Championship took place in Hyderabad with matches broadcast on national Indian television and through the Al-Kass satellite channel.

 

Referee couples from Iraq, Iran, Korea, Bahrain, China and a special intercontinental referee pair from Iceland (Eliasson/Palsson) oversaw the games.

 

Nine teams (with 2016 winners Al Noor (KSA) not participating after withdrawing) participated in two groups at the KVBR Stadium, playing each other once in a round-robin competition:

 

GROUP A: Al Duhail (QAT), Sharjah (UAE), Naft & Gaz Gachsaran (IRI), Muscat (OMA)

 

GROUP B: Club India (IND), Al Ahli (QAT), Rkor (UZB), Al Najma (BHN), Al Shurta (IRQ)

 

The third and fourth-placed teams in the groups played off in the main round to decide who would feature in the 5/6 and 7/8 placement matches as Al Shurta beat Muscat 36:24 (18:12) to finish fifth and Naft & Gaz Gachsaran took seventh place by beating Rkor 34:30 (18:17).

 

The top two teams in the groups went straight into the semi-finals which saw Danijel Saric and his Al Duhail side beat country rivals Al Ahli – featuring Brazilian goalkeeper Maik Dos Santos – 32:26 (13:9) and Al Najma (BRN) beat Sharjah (UAE) 29:27 (17:15).

 

Al Ahli managed to take bronze, coming from behind to beat Sharjah 31:27 (13:15), while in the final, watched by 2,500 fans, a defensive first half could not separate the teams before Al Najma eventually opened up a second-half lead to beat Al Duhail 21:16 (9:9) thanks to five goals from top-scorer Abdelrazeq Abouelfetoh.

 

The victory for Al Najma, which saw them awarded by Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh, Honourable Union Minister, Ministry of Steel, Government of India, meant not only continental superiority, but a ticket to the 2018 IHF Super Globe which will be held in Doha, Qatar from 16-19 October 2018.

 

FINAL RANKING

1 – GOLD: Al Najma (BRN)

2 – SILVER: Al Duhail (QAT)

3 – BRONZE: Al Ahli (QAT)

4: Sharjah (UAE)

5: Al Shurta (IRQ)

6: Muscat (OMA)

7: Naft & Gaz Gachsaran (IRI)

8: Rkor (UZB)

9: Club India (IND)

 

Women’s team AGMK Club (Uzbekistan) won the second-ever edition of the AHF Asian Women’s Club League at the Uzbekistan Sports Complex in September.

Photos: Asian Handball Federation