Somewhat in the shadow of EURO 2012, the Asian Men’s Championship got underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia few days ago. The Championship also serves to qualify the top three teams for the 2013 World Championships. Ten teams participate, initially playing in two round-robin groups of five teams. Japan and Korea are the only participants from East Asia. So far, there have been no real upsets. Korea and Japan have been place in what might be a tough group with Kuwait and Iran. The home team, Saudi Arabia, appears to have a more favorable draw, with Qatar as the most prominent opponent.

The positions in the groups, after each team has played two out of four games, are as follows: Group A: Japan and Korea 4 pts, Kuwait 2, Iran and Jordan 0; Group B: Qatar 4 points, Saudi Arabia 3, UAE 2, Bahrain 1 and Uzbekistan 0.