The first-ever edition of the IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship, due to be played in Egypt between 22 and 25 September, is just around the corner and the teams have already travelled to the African country, getting familiar with the surroundings and the Dr Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall, where the competition is set to take place.

The inaugural edition of the competition has six teams from four different countries, with two sides each representing Europe – the Netherlands and Slovenia – and South America – Brazil and Chile – and one team each from Africa and Asia – hosts Egypt and India.

According to the official rules of the competition, a maximum of 28 players can be registered for the competition. For each game, at least eight and a maximum of 10 players can be nominated on the official match sheet, with at least two women in the team.

Egypt will be motivated to clinch a medal in the championship they are hosting and an experienced coach was slated to take over the team. Wael Abdelaaty Sayed Aly, who led the men’s team at the 2015 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship in Brazil, will assume command of the team at the first edition of the IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship.

Abdelaaty Sayed Aly will have 13 players at his disposal, 11 men and two women, as the Egypt team have plenty of experience and talent on display to secure a good performance, despite a certain lack of experience at the highest level.

India’s roster is the slimmest in the competition, with the Asian side having only 10 players – seven men and three women – at their disposal, and this will also be the first-time ever they take part in an international wheelchair handball competition.

Their players have been already trying out different sports, such as basketball or badminton, but the enthusiasm makes them an interesting squad, with a penchant of proving why one of the most populous countries in the world can dominate a sport.

Moving over to South America, Brazil have definitely been one of the countries where wheelchair handball has thrived over the past decade. In total, the South American powerhouse has 400 players overall, distributed over 25 clubs, and, therefore, the selection process has surely been thorough.
 

With 12 domestic championships already played, Brazil have plenty of experience and are boasting 14 players at the 1st IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship, with eight men and six women in the squad.

Chile are also a side with big ambitions, having also been one of the countries where wheelchair handball has thrived in South America. While Brazil have taken their lion’s share in this respect, Chile also have 13 players in the squad, with eight men and five women featured in the team.

Wheelchair handball has been getting more and more popular in Europe and that is especially true for the Netherlands, where over 100 persons are now playing the sport constantly. 10 clubs are undergoing training sessions, while eight of them participate in a domestic championship.

For Egypt 2022, the Netherlands team have the largest squad in the competition, with 16 players on the sheet, 10 men and six women.

Last, but not least, Slovenia are a team that have been getting more and more experience in wheelchair handball and taking part in Egypt 2022 will surely boost the discipline in the home country.

With 15 players on the sheet, 12 men and three women, Slovenia will try to secure a medal in a highly competitive environment.
 

The six teams will compete in a World Championship played in a round-robin format preliminary round, with the two sides on top at the end of the round contesting the gold medal on Sunday. The event will throw off on Thursday at 10:00am local time with the games between Brazil and Slovenia, in Hall 1 of the Dr Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall, and Chile and the Netherlands in Hall 2.

The group phase will end on Saturday, with the game between the Netherlands and hosts Egypt.

For more information on the event, visit the official competition mini-site on ihf.info.