Six of the best Asian women’s club teams are in Almaty, Kazakhstan, ready for the third edition of the Asian Handball Federation’s (AHF) women’s club championship which throws off tomorrow (Wednesday 3rd October) and finishes on Tuesday 9 October.

The first AHF Women’s Asian Club Championship was held in 2016 in Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan and won by home team Kaysar HC, while the second edition, held last year, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, was also won by a host nation team, AGMK HC.

This time around, in 2018, four countries – India (IND), Iran (IRI), Kazakhstan (KAZ) and Uzbekistan (UZB) – are represented through six clubs with Almaty (KAZ), Astana (KAZ), Uzbechka (UZB), T-Sports Club (IND), Kaysar (KAZ), Larestan (IRI) all playing. Games will take place at 14:00, 16:00, 18:00 hrs (local time).

Indian side T-Sports Club and Astana Club, from Kazakhstan, will both be making their debuts in the tournament, while Iranian team Larestan HC appear for the second year running after finishing fourth in 2017. They will be looking to improve on that position, having undergone a training camp in Tehran leading up to the next week of matches.

Almaty and Uzbechka continue their record of appearing in all editions since it started, while Kazakhstan club Kaysar return after missing the 2017 edition, having won that debut edition two years ago.

The tournament will be played on a round-robin basis with each team playing each other once in a league format and the team which finishes top of the league crowned continental champions. All games will be played at the Dostyk Universal Sports Complex in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty.

The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at 17:45hrs (local time) tomorrow with the event hosted by the Kazakhstan Handball Association, under the guidance of the Asian Handball Federation.