Bahrain eye third Asian youth crown
Bahrain will bid to capture their third Asian youth title when they face Gulf rivals Qatar in the final of the 11th Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship today in Amman, Jordan.
The gold medal showdown is scheduled for a 6pm start at Princess Sumaya Hall, where the kingdom’s under-19 side will look to complete an impressive campaign by adding to the continental crowns they won in 2016 and 2018.
Standing in their way are fellow two-time champions Qatar, setting up a final between two sides seeking a third Asian crown.
Bahrain booked their place in the championship-decider with a hard-fought 26-23 semi-final victory over Iran on Saturday, while the Qataris advanced after defeating South Korea 32-28.
Under Egyptian coach Mohamed Soliman, the youngsters have yet to taste defeat in the tournament, progressing through the preliminary round with a perfect record before overcoming Saudi Arabia 30-28 in the quarter-finals.
That result also secured the Young Warriors a seventh appearance at the IHF Men’s Youth Handball World Championship, including a fifth in succession.
Saturday’s semi-final provided another stern test, with Bahrain holding a slender 14-13 advantage at half-time before their opponents fought back to level the contest at 18-18 midway through the second period.
The nationals then regained control during the closing stages, with Mahmood Ahmed and Mahdi Ali helping spark a crucial surge before Ahmed Abdulla struck from long range into an empty net to put Bahrain four goals clear at 24-20.
Goalkeeper Ali Almahroos was instrumental in the win, producing a number of important saves as Iran threatened to turn the contest around. He finished with 12 stops and was named Man of the Match.
Ahmed, Ali, Sayed Omran Almahafdha and Sayed Majeed Almuhafda shared the scoring honours with four goals apiece, while Hasan Saif added three.
Bahrain are appearing in the Asian youth final for only the third time, having won on both previous occasions. They also claimed bronze in 2010.
Success today would preserve their perfect record in the title game and bring a third continental crown on their 10th appearance in the competition.
Before the main event, hosts Jordan will face Uzbekistan in the seventh-place play-off at noon, followed by Kuwait against Saudi Arabia for fifth place at 2pm.
Iran and South Korea will then battle for bronze at 4pm before Bahrain and Qatar take centre stage two hours later.
All four semi-finalists have already secured qualification for next year’s IHF Men’s Youth Handball World Championship, scheduled to take place from July 29 to August 9, 2027.
Related Posts