Doha, Qatar, January 18, 2022: Reigning Asian champions Qatar have arrived in Saudi Arabia to take part in the 20th Asian Men’s Handball Championship which gets underway in Dammam on Wednesday, January 19.
A total of 16 countries will compete in the biennial tournament with the top five teams from this edition earning direct qualification to the World Men’s Handball Championship in Sweden and Poland in 2023.
Qatar, who have won each of the last four titles, are hot favourites and have been drawn in Group C along with the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Oman.
Qatar also won the gold medal in the men's event at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.
The other groups include the most successful team at this tournament, nine-time winners South Korea, Kuwait, Jordan and Singapore; hosts Saudi Arabia, Iran, Australia and India; and Bahrain, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The top two teams in each group (eight teams) will qualify for the main round and will be divided into two groups of four. The first and second teams in these two groups will enter the semi-finals.
The tournament ends on January 31.