HANDBALL – BAHRAIN’S senior men’s handball national team wrapped up their campaign in the 52nd edition of the Yellow Cup – dubbed the biggest handball tournament in Switzerland – with a narrow 31-33 loss to Ukraine.
The kingdom’s representatives trailed 17-18 at the half and showed great resilience as they fought for their first and only win of the friendly competition.
They fell behind by as many as four goals in the concluding 30-minute period but battled back to within 29-30 with six minutes remaining, although the Ukrainians managed to close things out for the slim two-goal victory.
With the result, Ukraine secured third place in the event and Bahrain were ranked fourth overall.
Winning the Yellow Cup for the 10th time in its history were hosts Switzerland, who secured the title following a 29-all draw against eventual runners-up North Macedonia in their concluding fixture.
Bahrain gained some valuable experience in their tournament debut and showed they belong. Despite losing all three of their contests, none of their defeats were by more than four goals.
The nationals competed in this year’s Yellow Cup as part of their preparations for the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship. The continental event takes place from Thursday to January 29 in Kuwait City, and it will act as the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) qualifier for the 30th IHF Men’s Handball World Championship, to be held in Germany from January 13 to 29 in 2027.
The Bahrainis are scheduled to return to the kingdom from Switzerland today, and will have a short period of rest before they are scheduled to depart for Kuwait City on Wednesday.
Bahrain – gold medal winners from last year’s sixth Islamic Solidarity Games – are one of 15 nations from across the continent set to hit the court in the 22nd Asian Men’s Handball Championship.
They will be playing in Group B for the preliminary round alongside Iraq, China, and Jordan. Group A features defending champions Qatar, South Korea, and Oman; Group C is composed of the UAE, Hong Kong, India, and hosts Kuwait; and Group D comprises Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Japan, who were the silver-medallists from the previous edition.
The nationals open their campaign against Jordan at 4pm on Friday, and then play China on Sunday next week at 6pm. They then complete the opening round against Iraq next Tuesday at 4pm. All times are Bahrain.
The kingdom’s head coach Robert Hedin from Sweden had 19 players take part in the Yellow Cup, and he is expected to feature generally the same roster in the Asian competition.
The Bahrainis are to be spearheaded by inspirational captain Hussain Al Sayyad, while the rest of the team features Hassan Al Samaheeji, Mohammed Abdulhussain, Mohammed Habib Ahmed, Mohammed Habib Nasser, Hussain Mahfoudh, Jaffar Abdulshaheed, Mohammed Hameed, Hesham Ahmed, Salman Al Showaikh, Qassim Qamber, Ahmed Redha, Sayed Ali Basem, Hassan Madan, Ahmed Almaqabi, Ali Mahmood, Jassim Khamis, Ali Redha, and Ali Alasheeri.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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