HANDBALL – Brave Bahrain went down fighting to Saudi Arabia 27-33 last night in their concluding preliminary round fixture of the boys’ handball tournament in the third Asian Youth Games.
The hosts faced a massive 10-goal deficit in the first half but valiantly roared back after the break, getting to within three goals following an Ahmed Abdulla conversion from nine metres with under 14 minutes still to play.
Their bid for a resounding comeback came up just short, however, as the Saudis were able to hold on for the win and end the opening stage undefeated after four games in Group A.
Despite the loss, the Bahrainis were already through to the semi-finals.
As Group A runners-up, they will be facing Group B winners Kuwait in the last four, which is scheduled to be held tomorrow at 7pm.
The Saudis take on China in their clash at 5pm.
The two fixtures will set the stage for the gold and bronze medal games, scheduled for Thursday at the Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF) Arena at Um Al Hassam Sports Complex.
Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa attended last night’s game.
He was accompanied by Olympic Council of Asia standing committee chair Prince Fahad bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from Saudi.
In the other Group A contest yesterday, Jordan beat Hong Kong 22-15; while in Group B, Kuwait overcame Iran 24-19, China defeated Kazakhstan 41-26, and the UAE outplayed Thailand 38-24.
In Bahrain’s loss last night, the home team put in a strong fight in the final 30 minutes, but Saudi did enough to triumph.
Mohammed Tarrada ended the match as the top scorer for the Bahrainis with six goals, while Abdulla had four and both Ahmed Eid and Abuthar Yateem scored three.
For Saudi, Ahmed Alobaidi had a game-high nine goals, while Haidar Altarooti scored eight and Fadel Alramdan had six.
Meanwhile, the girls’ handball competition continues today.
Their event is being played in league format, with the medallists being determined after all matches in a single round-robin are completed on Thursday.
Today, which is a rest day for the boys, Iran take on Thailand at 11am, Kazakhstan face China at 1pm, and India battle Hong Kong at 3pm.
The Iranians are currently undefeated in three matches and are atop the girls’ table with six points.
China and Kazakhstan follow, also on six points apiece, but having played four matches each, and with both losing once so far.
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