JEDDAH, 6 April 2007 — Al-Ahli, champions in the recently-concluded Al-Nokhbah Water Polo Championship, and runner-up Al-Ittihad flew yesterday to Kuwait for the Asian Water Polo Championship to be held there until Wednesday.
Ahli, in danger of not making it to the event due to financial constraints, were able to find the finances to participate largely due to help from members. Ahli Manager Majid Ba Muflih said, “The members were very cooperative and their donations helped us to join Ittihad for the championship.” The championship includes six teams, two from each of the three participating countries - Saudi Arabia, Iran and hosts Kuwait.
Al-Qadisiya were put on standby in the event Ahli failed to make the trip. But with the finance issue settled, Ahli and Ittihad players attended a training camp in Jeddah last Saturday.
Nasser Al-Dheghether, Ahmed Al-Shammari and Bandar Al-Khalaf from Qadisiya will play for Ittihad in the championship. The rest of Ittihad squad includes professionals Denis Surdan from Ukraine and Dijan Pupovas from Croatia, and nationals Adel Al-Malki, Khalid Al-Malki, Mitib Al-Malki, Bandar Al-Zahrani, Mohammed Al-Zahrani, Adil Al-Najjar, Abdullah Al-Harbi. Team Manager: Majid Al-Malki. Coach: Dragon. Assistant Coach: Salih Al-Zahrani.
The Ahli team will be managed by Ba Muflih and coached by Serjio. The team: Salim Al-Harbi, Hussain Al-Jizani, Khalid Al-Harbi, Yousri Al-Layli, Ali Al-Mansouri, Walid Al-Ghamdi, Ayman Al-Oryani, Mohammed Abdouh, Mohammed Sharahili, Saeed Sagar, Mamdouh Al-Zahrani and professionals Zadseif Genadi of Ukraine and Galktion Letadez of Georgia. Fihir Al-Taib, Ahli water polo supervisor, will join the teams. Al-Dheghether, in an earlier interview, said the competition will for the first time see two top teams from each country participating. “It is going to be interesting and our chances are hopefully high,” he said.
Matches would be aired on Kuwait Sport Channel.
Meanwhile, in the Saudi Water Polo League, Ahli took the lead with 34 points in First Division competition, followed by Ittihad with 31 points, Qadisiya with 11 points and Safa fourth.
In the final preliminary week (March 28 to 30) matches, Ittihad crushed Ahli 11-4, Ahli then beat Qadisiya 17-6 and Safa 11-8 in that order.
Safa’s Ali Shabab told Arab News that the performance of Ahli and Ittihad in the league indicates that they will be strong contenders in Kuwait. “It is the dream of all the athletes to play in the Asian Championships and the World Cups, we hope if we get a foreigner coach, professionals and financial support like the rest of the clubs we could also be a contender at home.”
The semifinal round of the First Division is set for April 18, while for the Saudi Water Polo Youth League, where Ittihad is dominating, is set for April 11.
