With six wins out of the seven games they played at the 25th Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship, Bahrain side Al-Najma secured their second title in the competition, confirming their berth for the 2023 IHF Men's Super Globe.

11 teams lined up at the start of the competition, which took place in Isfahan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, between 1 and 10 June, with eight countries – Bahrain, the People's Republic of China, Islamic Republic of Iran, India, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Uzbekistan represented in the competition.

The winners, Bahrain side Al-Najma, started the tournament with a surprising loss against reigning champions Al-Kuwait SC (36:38) after a strong outing from Brazilian line player Vinicius Teixeira, who scored seven goals.

However, Group B provided an excellent battle between Al-Najma, Al-Kuwait and Qatari side Al-Duhail, with all sides finishing with four wins and one loss and their head-to-head games deciding the final standings. 

With only two sides qualifying for the semi-finals, Al-Duhail won the group thanks to their superior goal difference in their head-to-head games (+1), while Al-Najma progressed with a neutral goal difference (0), with Al-Kuwait failing to defend their title after ending up on the third place with a -1 goal difference.

The same situation was there to be seen in Group A, where Qatari side Al-Rayyan won the group in a three-way tie with Kuwaiti side Kazma SC and Iranian team Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan.

Al-Rayyan had a +7 goal difference, while Kazma finished on a neutral goal difference, 0, as the hosts Foolad headed to the 5/6 Placement Match due to a -6 goal difference.

Al-Najma went on to seal a 31:29 win over Al-Rayyan in the semi-finals, setting up a final against Al-Duhail, which took a 23:19 win over Kazma, trying to secure their third title in history after the ones in 2018 and 2021.

The final was truly epic, with Al-Duhail taking an early 8:5 lead in the first half, only to see themselves tied at 8:8 after an excellent run from Bahrain's centre back Husain Alsayyad, who was the top scorer of the game.

The Qatari side still took a 13:10 lead at the break, but after 60 minutes, the score was tied, 22:22. Four extra-time halves followed until Al-Najma finally broke the deadlock, thanks to two crucial goals from Alsayyad, who finished the game with 11 goals from 11 shots, a flawless performance.

It was Al-Najma's second win in the competition and the second win for Bahraini clubs in history, with Najma avenging their loss in the final last season against Al-Kuwait.

Al-Najma also became the fourth team to qualify for the 2023 IHF Men's Super Globe, after title holders SC Magdeburg, Egyptian side Al-Ahly, the winner of the 2023 African Handball Super Cup, and San Fernando HB, the winner of the 2023 South and Central American Men's Club Handball Championship.

25th Asian Men'sMen's Club League Handball Championship

1. Al-Najma (BRN)
2. Al-Duhail (QAT)
3. Al-Rayyan (QAT)
4. Kazma SC (KUW), 5. Al-Kuwait SC (KUW), 6. Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan (IRI), 7. Oman Club (OMA), 8. Shahid Shameli Kazeroon (IRI), 9. Junior Club (CHN), 10. T-Sports Club (IND), 11. RKOR Tashkent (UZB)

Photo: Asian Handball Federation