Bahrain name Robert Hedin as the new head coach of the men's national team
27 May. 2025
The Bahrain Handball Association (BHA) have announced the appointment of Robert Hedin as the new coach of the Bahrain men’s senior national team, underlining the ambition of the Asian team for the future.
A perennial contender in Asia and a team which was present at the last five editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship, Bahrain relied on international know-how over the past years, having two Icelandic coaches on the bech, Aron Kristjánsson and Halldór Jóhann Sigfússon, since 2018.
As Kristjánsson departed after the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, where Bahrain ended up on the 29th position, taking over the Kuwait men’s national team, Bahrain named Hedin, the former coach of the United States of America men’s national team.
Hedin, 59, was a towering left back during his playing career, part of the Sweden team which became European champions in 1994, silver medallists at the Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, as well as bronze medallists at the 1993 IHF Men’s World Championship.
He spent time in Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Germany as a player, transitioning into a playing-coaching role at Swiss side TSV St. Otmar St. Gallen, between 1998 and 2001. He then coached German sides TuS N.-Lübbecke and MT Melsungen, separated by a stint at former club Ystads IF between 2004 and 2007.
Hedin also headed the Norway men’s national team between 2008 and 2014, also coaching Danish side Aalborg Handbold, then moving to Austria, where he spent two years at Bregenz Handball.
Since 2018, the Swedish coach led the USA national team, writing history for the American side by winning the first match at the IHF Men’s World Championship, 28:27, against Morocco, in the preliminary round of the 2023 edition of the world handball flagship competition.
USA also played against Bahrain at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, losing 27:32, and subsequently finishing on the 20th place. In the last edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship, in January 2025, the USA side, under Hedin’s supervision, finished 26th, securing three more wins.
The last competition for Hedin as the USA coach was the 2025 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, where the American side finished third, sealing the bronze medal.
Bahrain have established themselves as a powerhouse in Asian handball, where they secured six medals in the last eight editions of the AHF Men’s Handball Championship, clinching the silver medal in 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022 and the bronze in 2024.
They have also made the quarter-finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, finishing eighth, while their best finish at the IHF Men’s World Championship was the 16th place at Poland/Sweden 2023.