HANDBALL – BAHRAIN stormed to their second successive victory last night in the boys’ handball competition of the third Asian Youth Games.
The kingdom’s medal hopefuls were in a class of their own in a dominant 74-13 rout of the Maldives at the Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF) Arena in Umm Al Hassam Sports Complex.
The nationals scored the game’s first 11 goals and never took their foot off the gas the rest of the way.
The result helped them improve to four points on the Group A table, where they are ranked behind Saudi Arabia on goal difference by just a single goal.
The Saudis were 33-11 winners over Jordan in yesterday’s other boys’ handball fixture. It was also their second triumph, while the Jordanians were playing their first game.
In Bahrain’s big win last night, they held their opponents to just six goals in the opening half while firing in 34.
They continued their onslaught after the re-start and gradually extended their advantage until the final whistle as they were aiming to leapfrog Saudi on the standings.
The 61-goal winning margin was also the biggest gap of the evening.
Karrar Ahmed was in scintillating form for the home team, scoring 24 of their goals. Two others were also in double figures, including Abuthar Yateem who had 14 goals and Mohammed Tarrada who contributed 12.
Mahmood Ahmed and Mohammed Aadam chipped in with seven goals apiece, while Ahmed Al Samaheeji had five.
Ali Jadded scored three goals, while Hussain Aradi and skipper Qassim Sabt finished with one each to round out Bahrain’s scorers.
Lahufaan Shaheem paced the Maldives with eight goals in their second loss of the tournament.
Bahrain now have a lengthy break and are only back on the court on Saturday when they take on Jordan. They then face off with Saudi on Sunday to complete their Group A schedule.
In today’s boys’ handball fixtures at BHF Arena, Iran and China clash at 4pm, Thailand and Kuwait face off at 6pm, and the UAE and Kazakhstan play at 8pm. All three matched are in Group B.
The top two teams from each of the two boys’ handball pools will move on to clash in the semi-finals, scheduled for Tuesday next week. The gold and bronze medal games will then take place on October 30.
Meanwhile, the girls’ handball competition got underway at the same venue yesterday with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran all claiming wins.
The Uzbeks banked on a strong opening half to defeat India 39-26, while Kazakhstan cruised to a 40-24 triumph over Hong Kong.
The Iranians, on the other hand, battled hard in the second half to turn a slim 11-12 deficit at the break to a 30-25 victory against China. Iran outscored their opponents 19-13 in the concluding 30-minute period.
Girls’ handball matches continue today at BHF Arena with Iran playing Uzbekistan at 10am, India facing Kazakhstan at 12noon, and China taking on Thailand at 2pm.
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