HANDBALL – Bahrain punched their tickets to the boys’ handball semi-finals last night in the third Asian Youth Games, being hosted by the kingdom.
The hosts secured their berth after registering their third successive win of the preliminary round – outclassing Jordan 32-20 in a Group A contest played at the Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF) Arena in Um Al Hassam.
The Bahrainis scored nine unanswered goals in the first half to build a commanding 12-3 lead.
They maintained their grip on the contest and headed into the interval up 19-11, and never allowed their opponents to get any closer than six goals the rest of the way.
Mahmood Ahmed fired in their game-ending throw to peg the final score. Their 12-goal winning margin was the biggest of the night.
Qassim Sabt spearheaded the nationals with nine goals in the game, while Ahmed Eid added seven and Ali Hasan had four.
Mohammed Aadam and Mahdi Ali contributed three goals apiece, while Ahmed, Sayed Almuhafda, and Abuthar Yateem all finished with two goals. Ali Jadeed rounded out Bahrain’s scorers with one.
Ziad Obeidat paced the Jordanians with five goals, while Omar Al Khalaileh and Abdel Rahman Herzallah each contributed four.
With the result, Bahrain improved to six points on the Group A standings but are still behind Saudi Arabia, who are on the same points but have a superior goal difference.
Both the Bahrainis and Saudis are already through to the last four, and face off this evening at 7pm to determine the winners of their pool.
The boys’ semis are scheduled to be held on Tuesday, setting the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on Thursday at the BHF Arena.
In yesterday’s other boys’ handball clash, Hong Kong defeated the Maldives 41-10 for their first win in three tries.
Elsewhere today, Hong Kong play Jordan in their concluding contest, while in Group B, the UAE take on Thailand, Kazakhstan play China, and Iran face Kuwait – matches that will determine who will qualify for the last four from their division.
In girls’ handball yesterday, Kazakhstan claimed a crucial 31-23 win over Uzbekistan, China beat Hong Kong 38-014, and Thailand and India played to a 26-all stalemate.
Iran continue to top the girls’ standings with six points from three wins in as many games, while Kazakhstan and China follow, also on six points each, but with four games played.
Girls’ handball matches continue tomorrow. Their competition is being played in league format, with the medallists being determined after all matches played in a single round-robin.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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