Three countries are set to make their debut in the AHF West Asian Women’s Championships as the 2018 edition throws off this Thursday (15 February) in Amman, Jordan, finishing just under a week later, on Wednesday 21 February.

 

Iran, Syria and Lebanon will be the newcomers in the tournament which also features hosts Jordan, Iraq and defending champions, Qatar.

 

The second edition of the competition will see all teams play each other once in a league format in the Princess Sumaya Hall. The first round of matches includes some mouth-watering ties with Jordan throwing off their tournament against Lebanon and Iran and Iraq facing each other in their opening ties

 

The first edition of the tournament was held in Doha, Qatar in September 2017 with Qatar beating Jordan 22:19 in the final, Iraq finishing in bronze and UAE fourth.

 

“Hosting this tournament is part of our plan to attract more women and girls to the sport in the long run,” said Jordan Handball Federation President, Dr Tayseer Al Mansi to the Jordan Olympic Committee website.  “It also gives us the opportunity to test our capabilities of hosting such a tournament of this stature.

 

Tunisian-born Jordan Adnan Ben Hareth affirmed that his team are more than ready to show their best to the home fans. “We have been training over the past months where we worked on player's fitness,” he said. “We will play to be on top of the championship.”

Photo: Asian Handball Federation