ASIAN BEACH GAMES – BAHRAIN barged into the knockout stages yesterday in both the men’s beach handball and men’s 3x3 basketball tournaments at the sixth Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China.
The kingdom’s beach handball national team outclassed their counterparts from Hong Kong 2-0 (16-6, 16-10) to advance to the semi-final round, while the 3x3 basketball squad defeated Kazakhstan 21-14 to book a berth in their competition’s play-offs for the quarter-finals.
Both sides are back in action today as they look to keep their medal ambitions alive.
Bahrain’s beach handball stars will be taking on continental powerhouses Qatar in a mouth-watering contest in the final four, scheduled for a 2pm start, Bahrain time.
The 3x3 basketball team, on the other hand, will be facing Mongolia in an elimination affair at 7.15am, also Bahrain time, which will determine one of four available places amongst the elite eight.
In attendance for both of yesterday’s contests were Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) board member and BOC Arab and international relations director Fajer Jassim Mohamed, Bahrain’s chef de mission in Sanya and BOC executive director of operations Ahmed Abdulghaffar, and deputy chef de mission and BOC Arab and international relations head Maryam Mardana.
Also on hand in the beach handball match was BOC board member and Bahrain Handball Federation president Ali Issa Ishaqi.
In Bahrain’s victory against Hong Kong, they took control early and were dominant in the first set. An Adam Alnasheet specialist shot gave them a 16-6 lead with under two minutes to play – an advantage they held on to until the end of the period.
In set two, Hong Kong were first on the board with a Fung Cheuk Hei spin shot, but the Bahrainis responded immediately and edged ahead 6-2 on Bilal Basham’s own spin shot. The nationals continued their fine form and a Komail Mahfoodh two-pointer gave them a commanding 16-8 cushion with only seconds remaining.
Li Cheung pegged the final score for Hong Kong as Bahrain came away with their fourth win in five outings to complete their Group A campaign in the men’s beach handball preliminary round.
Three players finished with eight points apiece for the victorious nationals, including Alnasheet, Basham, and Mahfoodh. Komail Ghuloom added four points, while Mahdi Ali and Ali Alhayki scored two each.
Li, Chan Ka Him, and Wong Tat Hin scored four points each for Hong Kong.
The result earned them second place in their division and a spot in the semis, where they joined Iran who finished in first place. The Iranians beat China in yesterday’s other Group A clash – an outcome that also helped Bahrain march through as the host Chinese dropped to third on the table.
The Qataris qualified as winners of Group B where they finished with an undefeated record in seven matches. Thailand also went through and will face Iran in the last four after being classified as runners-up with six wins from their seven fixtures.
The winners of the semi-finals will move on to the gold medal contest tomorrow, scheduled for a 4pm start, while the losers will clash for the bronze medals, also tomorrow at 3pm. Both times are Bahrain.
Meanwhile, in 3x3 basketball, Bogdan Dragovic was on fire as he carried Bahrain’s quartet to their all-important triumph over Kazakhstan.
Dragovic poured in 17 of the Bahrainis’ points – individually outscoring the entire Kazakh contingent. His total output included three baskets from beyond the arc.
Austin Ajukwa chipped in with four points, while teammates Nasser Almosawi and Mohammed Kowayed went scoreless.
Timur Tangiyev led Kazakhstan with five points in the loss, while Akylbek Oralbekov added four.
The result marked the first and only win for Bahrain in Pool C of the men’s 3x3 basketball preliminaries, where they earlier suffered losses to Qatar, who advanced directly to the round of eight, and India, who will also be competing in today’s play-offs.
Others who were through directly to the quarter-finals were Pool A winners the Philippines, Pool B victors Malaysia, and Pool D winners Thailand.
In the play-off round, the Indians will face Sri Lanka, Iran take on Hong Kong, and Singapore play China.
Should Bahrain prevail today against Mongolia, their next opponents will be the Thais. The quarters are also scheduled to be held today, with the semi-finals along with the gold and bronze medal contests set for tomorrow.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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