HANDBALL – BAHRAIN barged into the semi-finals of the 11th Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship last night and in doing so booked their berth in next year’s 12th IHF Men’s Youth Handball World Championship.
The kingdom’s youth men’s handball national team, who are two-time former champions in the under-19 continental tournament, achieved both feats after edging past Gulf rivals Saudi Arabia 30-28 in their elite-eight clash yesterday at Princess Sumaya Hall in Amman, Jordan.
The Bahrainis trailed early on and faced a slim 14-15 deficit at the half. But they roared back over the final 30 minutes to eke out the hard-earned victory.
Mohamed Marzooq top scored for the nationals with eight goals in the win. He was later named the Man of the Match and was presented with an award post-game by Bahrain Handball Federation national teams director and their delegation head at the Jordanian capital Ismael Baqer.
Bahrain next face off with Iran in the last four, which is scheduled to be held this evening. Their game is set for an 8pm start, Bahrain time. The Iranians defeated Uzbekistan 36-24 in their contest yesterday to march through to the semis.
South Korea and Qatar square off in the other fixture, slated for a 6pm throw-off. The South Koreans advanced to today’s clash after a 36-28 win over Kuwait in another quarter-final yesterday, while Qatar routed hosts Jordan 33-13.
Today’s semis will set the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on Monday. Placement matches will also be held today and Monday.
Also with their wins yesterday, Iran, South Korea, and Qatar joined Bahrain in securing their places in the 12th IHF Men’s Youth Handball World Championship, scheduled to be held July 29 to August 9 in 2027 at a to-be-confirmed host nation.
The Bahrainis qualified for the youth worlds for the seventh time, including for its fifth straight edition.
In Bahrain’s win last night, they were behind for much of the opening period and a Marzooq penalty right before the interval helped them get to within a goal heading into the locker rooms.
The nationals then came bursting out of the gate in the second half, taking a 16-15 lead on successive Marzooq conversions, which helped spark a decisive 8-4 rally that gave them the lead for good at 22-19. Their surge was capped by two straight strikes from Sayed Majeed Almuhafda.
Bahrain then went ahead by as many as six goals, 29-23, in the closing stages, and although Saudi tried to make a late run with five unanswered conversions to get back to within 28-29, Sayed Omran Almahafdha pegged the final score with a penalty to seal the match.
Ali Hasan chipped in with six goals for Bahrain in their victory, while Almuhafda contributed five goals and Ahmed Abdulla had four. Almahafdha added three goals and Mahdi Ali had two, while Hussain Abadi and Mahmood Ahmed finished with a goal apiece.
Basel Alabdulmohsin paced Saudi with six goals, while Ali Darorah and Hassan Alelaiwat each finished with five in their loss.
The Bahrainis are competing in the Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship for the 10th time. They were continental champions in 2016 and in 2018, while they also took the bronze medals in 2010.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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