GCC GAMES – Bahrain’s senior men’s handball and volleyball national teams are set to face tough schedules in their respective competitions at the fourth GCC Games, taking place next month in Doha, Qatar.
The draw ceremony for the two team sports was held yesterday by the GCC Games’ organising committee at Lusail Hall in the Qatar Olympic Committee headquarters.
Representatives from the six participating GCC nations were on hand, with others joining virtually.
Handball and volleyball are two of the 19 sports that will be held as part of the Games’ programme.
The others are athletics, table tennis, squash, padel, fencing, boxing, taekwondo, karate, swimming, billiards, snooker, basketball, 3x3 basketball, shooting, archery, equestrian, and bowling.
In handball, Bahrain are scheduled to open their title bid on May 15 when they take on Kuwait.
They then play Oman two nights later, before facing off with Saudi Arabia on May 19.
The Bahrainis lock horns with the hosts and defending champion Qataris in a mammoth clash on May 20 – an affair that is expected to be a decisive clash for the final ranking – before completing their schedule against the UAE the next day on the Games’ penultimate day.
Bahrain are expected to be amongst the leading contenders for handball gold in Doha.
They have appeared on the podium in each of the three previous editions, headlined by their title-winning run in the inaugural GCC Games hosted by the kingdom in 2011.
They finished as silver-medallists in the meeting’s previous edition in 2022 in Kuwait City, Kuwait, where they joined Qatar and the home team, who captured bronze, on the podium.
That added to their runner-up classification in 2015 in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the volleyball competition’s draw also took place yesterday.
According to an official from the Bahrain Volleyball Association, the tournament schedule has not been officially issued as it is likely to be modified and will be announced by organisers in due course.
The kingdom’s senior men’s spikers are also tipped to be amongst the top contenders in their event.
They were the silver-medallists in Kuwait City four years ago, with Qatar taking gold and Oman winning the bronze medals.
That ended their impressive run as back-to-back champions from the Games’ earlier two editions in Dammam and at home.
The Bahrain Olympic Committee have yet to confirm the number of sports that Bahrain’s elite athletes will be participating in at this year’s GCC Games.
The nationals bagged a sensational 64 medals from the 2022 meeting, including 20 gold medals, 23 silver, and 21 bronze.
In 2015, they came away with 43 medals, including six gold, 21 silver, and 16 bronze; while in 2011, Bahrain came away with 19, including eight gold, six silver, and five bronze.
The sports in this year’s GCC Games will be hosted across 10 venues, including Aspire Dome, Qatar Sports Club, Khalifa International Tennis, Squash and Badminton Complex, Lusail Shooting Range, Al Gharafa Sports Club, and other leading sports facilities.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))