HANDBALL – Two-time champions Japan silenced a capacity home crowd at the Khalifa Sports City Hall last night by stealing a tense, come-from-behind 20-17 semi-final win over hosts Bahrain last night to march into the final of the 21st Asian Men’s Handball Championship.
Nearly 4,000 home fans, who had packed into the arena more than an hour before the game began, had been cheering their team on as Bahrain led throughout the first half and, with seven minutes till full-time, were ahead, 17-16.
But Japan drew level, at 17-17, in the 54th minute and, just a minute later, had edged one goal ahead, at 18-17.
They could have extended their lead to two goals in the 56th minute but Bahrain goalkeeper Mohamed Abdulhusain made his eighth save of the night to keep his team still in the game.
Thirty seconds later, it was his counterpart Motoki Sakai who pulled off an equally brilliant save to deny Bahrain the opportunity to draw level.
The crowd, which had been singing, chanting and cheering constantly, sensed that time was running out and the noise level in the hall soared as they urged Bahrain to somehow score the equaliser.
But the Japanese had tightened their defence so much that the Bahrain players just couldn’t find a way through.
The match had now entered its 59th minute and Japan’s Taiga Tsutaya managed to get one past Abdulhusain to push his team two goals in front, at 19-17, with only 100 seconds left in the game.
Bahrain went on the attack again but they were foiled once more by some superb defending by the Japanese who then gained possession in the 60th minute with Tsutaya putting the issue beyond any doubt for his team by scoring the final goal of the night as the crowd suddenly went completely silent.
Earlier, Bahrain had battled to a 2-1 lead by the fifth minute of the game with the scoreboard showing them leading 7-4 after 15 minutes.
After 25 minutes, the hosts led, 10-7, before trooping off the court at half-time with a slim, two-goal advantage, at 11-9.
Five minutes into the second half, Bahrain had a one-goal lead, at 12-11, and, after the 45th minute, were still ahead, 16-15.
Japan managed to draw level in the 21st minute, setting the stage for their remarkable performance in the last seven minutes of the game where they scored four goals and didn’t allow Bahrain the chance to score even one.
The two-time champions will now play defending champions Qatar, who beat Kuwait 33-26 in the first semi-final earlier in the day, in the final tomorrow.
Qatar, who are seeking their sixth consecutive title win, faced no problems in warding off a spirited Kuwaiti challenge, leading 17-11 at half-time before closing the match out easily.
Bahrain will face Kuwait tomorrow in the third-place play-off before the final.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia beat China 25-21 in the ninth-place classification game to clinch the Martyr Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah Cup.
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