BAHRAIN return to action today in the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia, with both the senior men’s national handball team and the under-23 Olympic football team suiting up for their respective tournaments.
The handball squad will be looking to add to their victory last Monday against Iraq when they take on India in their second match of Group ‘D’ in the men’s handball tournament at Gor Popki Stadium in Jakarta.
The under-23 Olympic team, meanwhile, open their campaign in the men’s football competition against defending gold-medallists South Korea in Group ‘E’, to be held in Jalak Harupat Stadium in the city of Soreang.
Both the men’s handball and football events have begun before the official Open Ceremony of this year’s Asian Games, which is scheduled for Saturday.
Bahrain’s handball squad will be looking for a victory today to virtually ensure their qualification for the next stage. They had earlier won 30-24 against their Iraqi counterparts and should enjoy a relatively similar result today against their Indian opponents.
The match is scheduled to start at 4pm, Bahrain time.
The Bahrainis held a training session yesterday under coach Aron Kristjansson. They worked on their mistakes from their first game and also discussed their game plan against India, who lost their opening assignment against Chinese Taipei 28-38.
Also yesterday, the national handball team celebrated the 29th birthday of top goalkeeper Mohamed Abdulhussain. The gathering was held at the athletes’ village and several Bahrain officials were on hand, including Chef de Mission of Bahrain’s delegation at this year’s Asian Games, Bader Nasser.
Bahrain won the handball bronze medals at the previous Asiad held in Incheon, South Korea in 2014. They will be looking to do better this time around.
Following this afternoon’s clash with India, their final game of the preliminary stage will be against Chinese Taipei on Friday. Only the top two teams from each of the four groups move on to the Main Round, while the others playing for classification.
Meanwhile, the kingdom’s under-23 Olympic team will have a monumental task against their South Korean rivals in their first game of the men’s football tournament. Both nations are in Group ‘E’ alongside Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia.
Bahrain head coach Samir ben Chammam held a training session yesterday as part of their final preparations ahead of this afternoon’s clash, which is scheduled for a 3pm kick-off, Bahrain time.
Chef de Mission Bader Nasser visited the squad last night and gave them some words of encouragement as they look ahead to facing the reigning Asian Games champions in football.
There are six groups in all in the preliminary round of the men’s football tournament. Play has already begun in a number of the divisions. The top two teams from each group advance directly to the quarter-finals after the preliminaries.
Bahrain’s next game will be against Kyrgyzstan on Friday and then with Malaysia on Monday next week.