South Korea end Bahrain's Asian title hopes
Bahrain's junior men's handball national team saw their bid for a second Asian title come to an agonising end after suffering a 32-31 defeat to South Korea in the semi-finals of the 19th Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship in Chuzhou, China.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, Bahrain's biggest objective had already been achieved after securing qualification for the 2027 IHF Men's U21 Handball World Championship with their quarter-final victory over Iran.
Yesterday's semi-final was a fiercely contested encounter from start to finish, with neither side able to establish a decisive advantage for long periods.
South Korea edged the opening half 15-14 after the teams traded goals throughout the first 30 minutes. Bahrain remained within touching distance despite missing several opportunities to take control before the interval.
The Koreans stretched their lead to three goals early in the second half, but Bahrain refused to let the contest slip away.
Inspired by the attacking trio of Abbas Ali, Ahmed Eid and Mohammed Aadam, the nationals repeatedly battled back to keep the deficit at a single goal heading into the closing minutes.
Eid scored three times in the final two minutes, while Salman Alshowaikh added another with seconds remaining, but Bahrain ultimately ran out of time as South Korea held on to book their place in the final.
Abbas Ali led Bahrain with seven goals, while Eid and Aadam each scored six. Alshowaikh added four goals, Ahmed Abdulla and Mahmood Yusuf chipped in with three apiece, while Sayed Ahmed Alfalahi and Abuthar Yateem scored one each.
Head coach Hussam Madan's side will now turn their attention to tomorrow's bronze medal match, where they will face Saudi Arabia after the Gulf rivals defeated the UAE 31-30 in the other semi-final.
The UAE will face South Korea in the final, with both matches taking place tomorrow. Bahrain's bronze medal clash against Saudi Arabia will begin at 11am, followed by the gold medal match between the UAE and South Korea at 1pm (both Bahrain time).
Although denied a place in the final, Bahrain can still finish their impressive campaign on the podium after already achieving the tournament's primary objective of qualifying for next year's World Championship in North Macedonia.
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