HANDBALL – BAHRAIN suffered a heavy 19-40 loss to European powerhouses Spain yesterday in their opening game of the 25th IHF Men’s Junior World Championship 2025, currently being played in Poland.
The game was played at Hall Legionow in the Polish city of Kielce, and it was part of the opening day’s Group H schedule, which also features African giants Egypt and Asian hopefuls Saudi Arabia.
The Bahrainis stayed close at the beginning of their contest but the Spaniards began to pull away before the half. They went on a run that saw them turn a 6-6 deadlock to a 16-10 advantage, sparked by a goal from Djordje Cikusa Jelicic.
Spain headed into the break with a 21-12 advantage, and over the final 30 minutes, did not let up, further tightening their defence and holding the Bahrainis to just seven more goals en route to the final buzzer.
Victor Romero Holguin was their leading scorer with six goals, while Jelicic had five and Jokin Aja Garate and Alberto Delgado Molina each had four.
Elias Ali fired in six goals for Bahrain in the big loss. Ahmed Fardan added four, while Mahmood Yusuf and Sayed Mahmood Alfalahi chipped in with three apiece.
The kingdom’s nationals are coached by Bahraini tactician Ali Al Falahi.
In yesterday’s other Group H clash, played at the same venue, the Egyptians defeated their Saudi counterparts 35-30.
The Bahrainis are next set to take on Egypt today at 3pm. Their last game of the first stage will then be against Saudi on Saturday at 12.45pm. Both times are Bahrain.
Elsewhere in the preliminary round, Group A features Norway, Slovenia, Uruguay, and hosts Poland; Group B includes Austria, Hungary, Argentina, and Brazil; Group C is composed of Sweden, Japan, South Korea, and the US; Group D comprises Portugal, Croatia, Algeria, and Canada; Group E features Denmark, France, Morocco, and Mexico; Group F includes Iceland, North Macedonia, Romania, and Faroe Islands; and Group G is composed of Tunisia, Serbia, Switzerland, and defending champions Germany.
At the end of this phase, the top two teams from each of the eight groups will move on to the main round, where they will be divided into another four groups of four sides apiece. That will set the stage for the ensuing quarter-finals, which kick off the knockout rounds to eventually classify the teams from first to 16th, respectively.
The bottom two sides from the four preliminary round groups will play in the President’s Cup bracket, which will determine the teams’ rankings from 17th to 32nd overall at the end of play.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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