BAHRAIN battled past the UAE 28-22 yesterday to claim their first win in the main round of the 18th Asian Men’s Handball Championship, being played in Suwon, South Korea.
The Bahrainis held a narrow 13-11 lead at the end of the first half but then piled on the pressure in the final 30 minutes to secure the hard-earned result.
Mahmood Abdulqader top scored for Bahrain with six goals. Ali Mirza and Hussain Al Sayyad chipped in with five goals apiece.
Shehab Al Blooshi and Abdulla Al Blooshi were the top performers for the Emiratis, finishing with five goals each.
The match was the first for both sides in Group Two of the tournament’s main round. Also in their division yesterday, defending champions Qatar outclassed Japan 40-23.
In Group One, Saudi Arabia tamed Iran 26-23 and hosts South Korea narrowly defeated Oman 29-27.
Only the top two teams from each group after a single round-robin advance to the knockout semi-finals, which will be played on Friday.
Today, action in the main round continues with Bahrain taking on Qatar and Japan facing the UAE. Both games are scheduled to begin at 1pm, Bahrain time. Also, Saudi Arabia face off with Oman and Iran go head to head with South Korea.
In yesterday’s consolation bracket games, Uzbekistan made easy work of New Zealand 33-19 while Australia got the better of Bangladesh 35-22.
The consolation bracket, which will help determine the final overall classification in the championship, also features two groups. Group Three features Uzbekistan, India and New Zealand while Group Four includes Australia, China and Bangladesh.
The Asian championship also acts as the continental qualifier for the 2019 World Men’s Handball Championship. The top four nations at the end of the competition go through to the to next year’s finals, which will be held in Denmark and Germany.
Bahrain are looking to secure their third appearance in the worlds, having earlier qualified for the 2011 and 2017 competitions. The Bahrainis are also looking to secure their first Asian title, having finished as silver-medallists the last two editions in 2014 and 2016.
Today’s Matches
9am: Australia vs China; India vs New Zealand
11am: Iran vs South Korea; China vs Bangladesh
1pm: Bahrain vs Qatar; Japan vs the UAE.
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