ASIAN YOUTH GAMES – HISTORY beckons as five sports kick off their respective competitions tomorrow in the third Asian Youth Games, being hosted by the kingdom under the royal patronage of His Majesty King Hamad.
Matches in handball, volleyball, kabaddi, kurash, and pencak silat are all scheduled to begin at various venues across the island.
Boys’ handball games will be played at Um Al Hassam Sports Complex, while boys’ and girls’ volleyball will be held across two indoor arenas at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
Boys’ and girls’ kabaddi will also take place at Isa Sports City, while kurash and pencak silat will be held at Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB) in Sakhir.
The five sports beginning tomorrow are part of the Games’ programme prior to the official opening ceremony scheduled for Wednesday at EWB.
In the boys’ handball tournament, 11 nations are participating, including hosts Bahrain, who are hoping to return to the podium after winning the bronze medals at the previous edition of the Asian Youth Games in 2013 in Nanjing, China.
The squads have been split into two pools for the preliminary round. The Bahrainis are in Group A along with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Maldives, and Hong Kong; while Group B features Kuwait, Iran, China, the UAE, Thailand, and Kazakhstan.
Bahrain’s boys open their campaign against Hong Kong tomorrow. The game is scheduled for a 7pm start.
Girls’ handball begins on Monday, with seven teams in the fray. They are China, India, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Thailand, and Iran.
Meanwhile, in volleyball, both girls’ and boys’ matches are scheduled for tomorrow. They are set to start from 11.30am, with girls’ contests to be played at Isa Sports City’s Hall B and boys’ games at Hall C.
Each tournament features 12 nations apiece. Bahrain are in Pool A of the girls’ event with Iran and Qatar. Pool B features China, Hong Kong, and Jordan; Pool C is composed of Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia; and Pool D comprises Thailand, South Korea, and the Philippines.
In the boys’ competition, Bahrain are in Pool A along with Pakistan and Mongolia. Pool B includes Iran, China, and Qatar; Pool C features Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Saudi; and Pool D comprises Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Both Bahraini squads are only in action on Monday, when the girls face off with Iran and the boys go up against Pakistan. The two fixtures get underway at 7pm.
Meanwhile, kabaddi will feature action in the boys’ and girls’ teams tomorrow, starting from 10am and continuing until after 7pm.
In kurash, action will take place in the girls’ under-70kg and boys’ under-65kg categories. The preliminaries will begin from 10am, leading up to the medal rounds for both divisions starting at 5pm.
In pencak silat tomorrow, the preliminary and quarter-final phases for the girls’ 51kg-55kg and boys’ 59kg-63kg competitions are scheduled to be held. Action begins from 10am.
All five sports will continue their schedules on Monday, when beach volleyball and teqball will also get underway. Beach volleyball will take place at Sama Bay, while teqball will be played at EWB’s hall 10.
Athletes, officials, and support staff from the participating nations continued to arrive in the kingdom yesterday as excitement for the third Asian Youth Games continues to reach fever pitch.
They were received by representatives from Bahrain’s reception, public relations, and transport committees, who assisted in their entry formalities and provided transportation services to their accommodations under a pre-arranged plan ensuring the comfort of all the kingdom’s visitors.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Chef de Mission and Bahrain Olympic Committee executive director of operations Ahmed Abdulghaffar visited the girls’ and boys’ volleyball teams yesterday at their residence in Wyndham Garden Hotel in Juffair.
Abdulghaffar met with the players and technical and administrative staff members, and expressed his confidence in them ahead of their upcoming competitions.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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