Sharjah 24: The Sharjah men's handball team was qualified for the golden square of the UAE Handball Cup competition, despite losing to its guest team, Mleiha, with a score of (25-23) in the third round of the preliminary match that brought together both teams, on Tuesday evening, at the Sharjah Sports Club hall, and ended the first half in favour of Sharjah (12-9).

With this result, Sharjah finished runner-up in the second group with seven points, also behind Mleiha, with 7 points, but by the difference in direct confrontations, and Dibba Al Hisn came in third and Al Ain in last.

The championship will be held without the participation of international players, with the absence of 10 key players from Sharjah. The team is also relying on the efforts of 6 junior players within the main squad.

The championship system stipulates that it will be played in three rounds, which is the preliminary round in a one-round league system, with the participation of 8 clubs divided into two groups. The first group included Shabab Al Ahly, Al Jazira, Al Wasl and Al Nasr clubs; and in the second group competed Sharjah, Al Ain, Mleiha and Dibba Al Hisn clubs.

The semi-finals are in a single-match knockout system in a neutral hall, in which the winner of the first group meets the second of the second group, and the winner of the second group meets the second of the first group.

The final round will be played in one match to determine the champion of the competition in a neutral hall between both teams that won the two semi-final matches.

It is noteworthy that Sharjah club has won the Federation Cup and the Super Cup since the start of the current season, and aspires to continue its leadership in the local championships with full marks to repeat last season’s five-point win. 

The club is chasing a new record by winning title No. 44 in the history of Sharjah Handball, after winning the General League Shield 17 times, 10 times the President’s Cup titles, 6 Super Cup championships, the UAE Cup 5 times, 3 cups in the Vice President’s Handball Cup competition, obtaining the 2023-2024 Federation Cup, in addition to the UAE-Bahraini Super Cup, and two bronze medals in the Asian Champions Clubs Cup 2019, and a bronze medal in the Gulf Cup 2023.