Al-Najma Club (Bahrain) has won the 25th Asian Men’s Club League Handball Championship by defeating Al-Duhail SC (Qatar) in a thrilling final by 31–30 in the second extra time.
Al-Duhail SC (Qatar) was leading by 3 goals at halftime and by 5 goals after 45 minutes in the second half. By scoring three goals in the last 5 minutes of regular time without conceding a single goal, Al-Najma Club levelled the match at 22–22 at the final buzzer thanks to the goal of Mohamed Ahmed in the dying seconds. The teams cannot be split in the first extra time, with the score being 26–26 at the end of the first extra time.
Up to this point, Al-Najma Club had never been in a one-goal lead during the match, including the regular time and first extra time. Al-Najma Club won the match and the championship by a score of 31–30 with a goal by Hussein Al-Sayyad in the dying seconds of the second extra time.
Hussain Al-Sayyad scored 11 goals for Al-Najma in the match, whereas their goalkeeper Mohamed Ali saved 37% of shots on goal.
In the bronze medal match, Al-Rayyan SC (Qatar) defeated Kazma SC (Kuwait) by 33–26 after leading 15–13 at halftime.
The competition took place from June 1 – 10, 2023, at the 25th Aban Arena in Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran, and saw eleven clubs from eight countries competing for the title and a qualification place in the IHF Men’s Super Globe.
The participating clubs were divided into two preliminary groups as follows:
Group A: Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC (I. R. Iran), T-Sports Club (India), Oman Club (Oman), Kazma SC (Kuwait), Al-Rayyan SC (Qatar)
Group B: Al-Kuwait SC (Kuwait), Junior Club (P. R. China), RKOR Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Al-Duhail SC (Qatar), Shahid Shameli Kazeroon Club (I. R. Iran), Al-Najma Club (Bahrain)
This is the second title for Al-Najma Club (Bahrain) in the Asian Men’s Club League Handball Championship after winning the title in 2017 in Hyderabad, India. Al-Najma Club also qualified for the 17th IHF Men’s Super Globe to be held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from October 17 – 23, 2023.
Final Ranking:
- Al-Najma Club (Bahrain) *
- Al-Duhail SC (Qatar)
- Al-Rayyan SC (Qatar)
- Kazma SC (Kuwait)
- Al-Kuwait SC (Kuwait)
- F. M. Sepahan SC (I. R. Iran)
- Oman Club (Oman)
- Shahid Shameli KC (I. R. Iran)
- Junior Club (P. R. China)
- T-Sports Club (India)
- RKOR Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
(*) Qualifies for the 17th IHF Men’s Super Globe to be held in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 17 – 23 October 2023.
All the details about the championship can be found here.
