BAHRAIN defeated Iran 29-23 yesterday to continue their winning ways in the men’s handball at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.
The kingdom’s senior men’s national team used a strong second-half performance to pull away from their rivals after a closely fought opening period. They led by as many as seven goals and did well to control the match late on.
The result earned them their first victory in Group Two of the Main Round and their fourth win overall in Jakarta, after previously sweeping their first three fixtures in the preliminaries.
The Bahrainis next take on 2014 silver-medallists South Korea, who were also victorious yesterday with a big 40-15 win over Hong Kong. Bahrain face Hong Kong in their final Main Round assignment on Friday.
Group One comprises defending champions Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Iraq. The top two teams from each group at the end of this stage qualify for the semi-finals.
In Bahrain’s match yesterday against Iran, both teams started off well and things were deadlocked at 5-5 following a Hasan Madan goal for Bahrain on a fast break. The nationals took a 10-8 lead with an Ali Salman effort from six metres, and then went up 14-10 with another Salman goal in transition.
Mohamed Ahmed was then able to score from the right wing to make it 16-13 with just seconds to go before the half-time whistle.
In the second period, Bahrain maintained a healthy lead despite a determined effort from their opponents to fight back. Hasan Alsamahiji was on target to make it 20-14 five minutes into the re-start.
Ahead
The nationals then went ahead by seven for the first time with another Salman goal that made it 22-15. The Iranians got back to within 19-23 but then consecutive goals from Mahmood Abdulqader and Ahmed put Bahrain back up by six.
Bilal Askani later scored from six metres to give the Bahrainis a 28-21 advantage with just minutes left on the clock, and then Hasan Al Fardan hit the nail in the coffin with a goal from the middle-left that made it 29-22 and just two minutes to go before the final buzzer.
Salman led all of Bahrain’s scorers with seven goals, while Ahmed had five. Alsamahiji, Al Fardan and Askani scored four apiece, and Ali Merza had three goals. Salman, Madan and Abdulqader each added a goal apiece in the win. Goalkeeper Mohammed Abdulhussain played did his part, making 12 saves in the contest.
Afshin Sadeghi Askari paced Iran with eight goals in the loss.
Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Assistant General Secretary and Bahrain Olympic Committee General Secretary Abdulrahman Askar atte nded yesterday’s match, as did the Bahraini delegation’s Chef de Mission Bader Nasser, Bahrain Handball Association President Ali Isa, and other officials.