Ahli and Al-Noor had a bright start to the 11th Asian Clubs Championships which kicked off at the Indoor Hall of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare(GPYW) here, Thursday. Host Al-Ahli, drawn in Group C, beat Al-Sadd of Lebanon 28-26. Al-Ahli dominated for most part of the game and finished the first half 16-11 before the team extended its lead to 28-26 to seal the victory seconds from the game. The second Saudi representative at the tournament, Al-Noor, edged Al-Salat of Jordan 35-24 in their Group D encounter. First half action saw the Saudi team leading 15-14. Earlier, Suliman Al-Sudairi, head of the Saudi Handball Federation, inaugurated the championships on behalf of Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, General President of Youth Welfare. Fifteen of the continent's best clubs are taking part in the event. The teams have been drawn into four groups of four teams each. The top two from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals to be held on knock-out basis. The sport's Asian Federation also announced that Oman's Muscat team will be fined for withdrawing from the championship days before the event. Nasr Hilal, a member of the Executive Office of the Asian Handball Federation, said the Omani team is being fined because it withdrew after the groups were announced. Officials at the Asian Federation also said that the fine will be extended to include the Omani Federation of Handball as well. In other matches, Qatar's Al-Ahli recorded a 29-27 win over Foolaz of Iran in Group B. Al-Ahli coach Ahmed Bilal said his side played against a strong squad as most of the Iranian players also represent the national team. On Friday, Al-Salat of Jordan plays Al-Fehaheel of Kuwait in Group D while Qatar's Al-Ahli meets Al-Sadaqa of Lebanon in Group B. Host Al-Ahli of Jeddah faces Bahrain League Champion Al-Najam while Al-Jaish of Iraq plays Al
