Bahrain eye Worlds berth in Saudi clash

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain will look to extend their unbeaten run at the 11th Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship when they face Saudi Arabia in a crucial quarter-final clash in Amman tonight.

The Kingdom’s under-19 side take on their Gulf rivals at Princess Sumaya Hall at 6pm, with victory securing both a place in the semi-finals and qualification for next year’s IHF Men’s Youth Handball World Championship.

The youngsters head into the contest in impressive form after sweeping through the preliminary round with four wins from four to top Group A.

They opened with a 51-20 victory over India before comfortably beating hosts Jordan 41-19. A 36-28 success against Uzbekistan secured their knockout-stage place, before a 35-27 triumph over South Korea on Wednesday completed their perfect group campaign.

Ahmed Abdulla starred in the latter victory with a game-high eight goals. The Bahrainis recovered from an 8-9 deficit to lead 15-11 at the break before pulling clear in the second half.

Topping the group earned them a meeting with Saudi Arabia, who finished fourth in Group B and closed their preliminary campaign with a 30-28 defeat to Kuwait.

A win tonight would also guarantee the Kingdom a return to the global stage, with all four semi-finalists qualifying for the 12th IHF Men’s Youth Handball World Championship, scheduled for July 29 to August 9 next year.

The national youth side have twice been crowned Asian champions, lifting the title in 2016 and 2018, while they also claimed bronze in 2010.

Elsewhere in today’s quarter-finals, South Korea face Kuwait at 2pm, Iran take on Uzbekistan at 4pm and Group B winners Qatar meet hosts Jordan at 8pm.

Should Bahrain advance, they will face the winners of the Iran-Uzbekistan tie in Saturday’s semi-finals.

The medal matches will bring the championship to a close on Monday.