BAHRAIN champions Barbar have reached Amman ahead of the 12th Asian Clubs Handball Championship which gets underway today.

Barbar are placed in a relatively reasonable Group 'A' along with UAE's Al Wasl, Al Sadaqa of Lebanon, Syria's Al Shabab and Shrdari of Iran.

The Bahrainis will begin their campaign tomorrow when they face off with Shrdari at 4pm (Bahrain time). They then take on Al Shabab on Wednesday.

Barbar's third match will be held on the following day when they play Al Sadaqa before their last game on November 15 against Al Wasl.

Senior officials from the General Organisation for Youth and Sports (Goys) visited the last training session of the team at the club premises before their departure.

Goys' clubs and youth centres director Abdulrahman Askar met the players and urged them to give their best and wished them success.

There are 18 clubs, representing 10 countries, taking part in this year's tournament. The teams are drawn into four groups with Groups 'A' and 'B' featuring five teams each while four teams will play in Groups 'C' and 'D'.

The first round features round robin matches with each group winners and runners-up qualifying for the quarter-finals, which will also be held in a round robin format. Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli, champions of the previous two editions, are the favourites once again.