Bahrain complete perfect Asian Games handball group campaign

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain marched into the men’s handball quarter-finals at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya yesterday, battling past Kuwait 28-25 to complete a flawless Group B campaign.

The Warriors made it four victories from four at Kasugai City Gymnasium, having already beaten Kazakhstan, Iran and South Korea, to finish top with eight points.

Swedish coach Robert Hedin’s side will now face Hong Kong, China in the last eight today as their pursuit of a maiden Asian Games handball title continues.

On the court, Bahrain began brightly, with Hasan Madan scoring twice from six metres before Mohamed Habib Naser struck from nine metres to help establish an early 5-4 advantage.

Ahmed Kadhem later converted from the left wing to make it 7-4, but Kuwait gradually fought back. Husain Al Mutawa levelled from the penalty line before Saleh Ali helped turn the game around as the Kuwaitis moved 13-11 ahead.

Sayed Shubbar pulled one back shortly before the interval, cutting the deficit to 13-12 at half-time.

Second-Half Surge

Kuwait extended their advantage to 14-12 after the restart, but Naser repeatedly hauled the Bahrainis back, scoring the equalisers at 14-14, 16-16 and 17-17.

The Gulf rivals edged back in front, only for Jasim Khamis to swing the momentum. He levelled at 18-18 before Salman Al Showaikh put his team ahead, then struck again and converted a fast break following his own steal to make it 21-18.

Bahrain captain Hussain Al Sayyad then struck from nine metres and on a breakthrough to stretch the lead to 24-19. After Kuwait pulled one back, Kadhem converted from the left wing to restore the five-goal cushion.

Kuwait cut the deficit to 27-25 late on, but Shubbar converted from six metres with four seconds remaining to seal the win.

Naser led Bahrain’s scoring with six goals, while Kadhem converted all four of his attempts. Madan and Khamis added four apiece.

Title Ambition

The result left the nationals top of Group B with eight points, having scored 135 goals and conceded 86. South Korea finished second, followed by Kuwait and Iran, with all four progressing to the knockout stage.

The Bahrainis are seeking a maiden Asian Games handball title after reaching the podium at each of the previous three editions. They took bronze at Incheon 2014 before successive silver medals behind Qatar at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and Hangzhou 2022.

Their latest bid follows an impressive run under Hedin, beginning with Islamic Solidarity Games gold in Riyadh last November. The kingdom then captured their maiden Asian Men’s Handball Championship crown in Kuwait before triumphing at the GCC Games in Doha.

Attention now turns to Group A fourth-placed Hong Kong, China, who await Bahrain in today’s quarter-final at 12pm. Their opponents advanced despite losing all three group matches, while three-time defending champions Qatar topped the section ahead of Japan and China.

Elsewhere in the last eight, Qatar face Iran, Japan meet Kuwait and South Korea take on China. The semi-finals take place on Monday, followed by the medal matches on Tuesday.