HANDBALL – BAHRAIN edged past Kuwait 28-25 yesterday to finish as Group B winners in the preliminary round of the men’s handball tournament at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The kingdom’s senior men’s national team pulled away from their Gulf rivals in the contest’s concluding quarter-hour at Kasugai City Gymnasium.
They used a game-changing 8-2 run, capped by an Ahmed Kadhem goal from the left wing, to turn a 17-18 deficit to a 25-20 lead with less than eight minutes to play. They then did enough to hold on to their slim advantage until the final buzzer, with Sayed Ali Shubbar converting in the last second to peg the final score.
With the result, the Bahrainis swept their Group B schedule where they claimed their fourth win in as many outings. They are now headed into the quarter-finals, where they will take on Group A fourth-placers Hong Kong today at 12noon, Bahrain time.
The Bahrainis handed Kuwait their second defeat, although they also marched through to the elite eight, where they will face off with hosts Japan. The other quarters pairings see South Korea take on China and three-time defending champions and Group A winners Qatar battle Iran.
Bahrain are hoping to secure their first-ever Asian Games men’s handball gold, which has eluded them over the past three editions of the quadrennial meeting. They are repeat silver-medallists, and had also won bronze in the past.
Bahrain needed to battle back from two goals down in the first half yesterday as they headed into the break trailing 12-13. The two teams then traded jabs until Jasim Khamis fired in to level the score at 18-all, sparking their decisive rally. They then took full control of the game and never looked back, keeping their opponents at bay as they got back to within two goals in the last minute.
Mohammed Habib Nasser finished as the Bahrainis’ leading scorer with six goals, while Kadhem, Khamis, and Hasan Madan all contributed four apiece. Salman Alshowaikh and inspirational skipper Hussain Al Sayyad added three goals each in the win.
Husain Almutawa and Saif Aladwani had six goals apiece to pace Kuwait. Following today’s elite eight, the semis will be held on Monday. That will set the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on Tuesday, which will be the concluding day of men’s handball in Aichi-Nagoya.In other games yesterday, South Korea routed Kazakhstan 44-22 in yesterday’s other Group B fixture while Qatar overcame Japan 37-28 in Group A.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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