BAHRAIN yesterday enjoyed a rousing start to the main round of the 19th Asian Men’s Handball Championship defeating the UAE 29-18 in Kuwait.
The Bahrainis were spearheaded in the Group One contest by captain Hussain Alsayyad, who was named Player-of-the-Match.
Bahrain held a comfortable 15-9 lead at half-time and didn’t let up in the final 30-minute period on way to an important victory.
It was the first game for the national team in the main round of the tournament. They moved to the top of Group One, ahead of Japan who were 30-22 winners over Saudi Arabia in yesterday’s other contest in the same group.
Bahrain next face Japan today, starting 2pm.
A win for either team will likely assure their place in the semi-finals.
The Emiratis and Saudis clash in the other Group One match at 4pm today.
Only the top two teams from each of the two groups make it through to the final four.
Earning a semi-final berth also qualifies them for the 2021 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship to be held in Egypt next January.
In Bahrain’s win yesterday, Al Sayyad finished with three goals, as did teammate Ahmed Fadhul.
Topping the Bahrainis scoresheet were Ali Merza and Ali Eid with four goals each.
Posting two goals apiece were Ahmed Almaqabi, Jassim Alsalatna, Bilal Askani, Mahmood Mohammed and Mahdi Saad.
Abdulla Ali, Mohammed Abdul Redha, Mohammed Merza, Hassan Alfardan and Mohammed Habib fired one goal each.
In Group Two last night, defending champions Qatar defeated South Korea 34-27. Iran and hosts Kuwait are the other teams in their pool.