HANDBALL – Al Ahli spoiled the incredible, previously unbeaten record of defending champions Al Najma last night after handing their fellow-title hopefuls their only loss of the regular season in the 2025-26 Khalid Bin Hamad Bahrain Handball League.
Qassim Qambar scored a crucial goal from the seven-metre line with less than half-a-minute remaining to help Ahli eke out a 30-29 triumph, and with Najma threatening to complete a stunning late comeback.
Najma headed into the contest having yet to lose in 19 games this campaign – although they had also previously registered two draws.
Both teams had already secured their places in the Golden Square semi-finals, with Najma having clinched the number one seed and Ahli number three.
While their head-to-head yesterday had no bearing on the standings, pride was at stake, as was Najma’s pristine mark.
But Ahli’s win, they now head into the last four knowing they are capable of beating last year’s titlists.
Set to join Najma and Ahli in the Golden Square are second seeds Al Shabab and fourth seeds Barbar. Najma and Barbar will be facing off in a best-of-three series while Ahli will take on Shabab.
The schedule of the highly anticipated ensuing stage has yet to be announced by the Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF).
The winners of the two semis clashes will move on to the championship game, which will be a single contest.
Last night’s match wrapped up the regular season of the 2025-26 Khalid Bin Hamad Bahrain Handball League and it marked the return of fans to the playing venue at the BHF Arena in Um Al Hassam Sports Complex.
The two teams battled each other goal for goal over the game’s opening minutes, but then an in-form Bilal Basham fired in for Ahli to break a 14-all deadlock.
His goal was the first of four unanswered as Ahli closed the first half strong, with Basham scoring once more in transition to send his team into the locker rooms with an 18-14 advantage.
Ahli stayed in control for much of the latter 30 minutes, and led by as many as five goals on multiple occasions.
But with less than five minutes left on the clock, Najma mounted a furious late surge.
A fast-break conversion by Ali Basem got them to within 25-28, and then Mujtaba Al Zaimour cut the deficit further to just two.
After Ahli’s Abdulla Ali was on target, Mahdi Saad added another for Najma from the penalty stripe, and them teammate Komail Mahfoudh made it a single-possession game at 28-29 with a goal from seven metres.
That set the stage for Qambar’s all-important strike from the right wing, and then Al Zaimour replied once more in the closing seconds to peg the final score.
Following his goal, Ahli ran the clock out to seal their hard-earned win.
Basham and Ali finished as the leading scorers for Ahli with eight goals apiece, while Qambar contributed three.
Mohammed Mirza and Saud Al Jadeed had five goals each to pace Najma, while Saad, Mahfoudh, and Ahmed Jalal contributed four each.
With the result, Ahli ended the league’s regular season with 54 points from 17 wins and three defeats – just two points behind Najma, who also have 17 victories and two stalemates to go with their sole loss.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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