Bahrain claim Asian handball silver medals
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain narrowly missed out on the gold medals in the 2022 Asian Men’s Handball championship in Saudi Arabia last night following a tough 24-29 defeat to champions Qatar in the tournament final, played at the Ministry of Sports Hall in Dammam.
It was the fourth time in the last five editions of the competition that the Bahrainis and Qataris met for the title, and each time the nationals had to settle for the silver medals. Qatar, on the other hand, won their fifth straight crown.
They had beaten South Korea in the previous championship held in 2020, when the Bahrainis took fourth place. The result earned Bahrain their fifth silver medal in the history of the tournament.
They were previously runners-up in their other finals appearances in 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018. They also won the bronze medal once in 1995.
In last night’s title-decider, the Bahrainis trailed by a slim, three-goal margin, 11-14, and were still in the fight. But over the final 30 minutes, they could not overcome their opponents despite their best efforts. Mohammed Habib and Ahmed Fadhul finished as joint top scorers for the nationals.
They finished with five goals apiece from seven attempts each. Hassan Samaheeji, Mohammed Mirza and team captain Hussain Al Sayyad added three goals each, while Mahdi Saad and Ali Mirza scored two goals apiece.
Ali Eid rounded off the Bahrain scoresheet with one goal. Bahrain goalkeeper Mohammed Abdulhussain made just five saves in the contest from Qatar 30 attempts. Following the match, the two teams were presented their respective trophies and medals in an awarding ceremony.
Also claiming their accolades were hosts Saudi, who came away with the bronze medals after defeating Iran 26-23 in yesterday’s other match.
The top four were followed on the tournament’s final rankings by South Korea in fifth place. All five of the national teams secured their berths in the 2023 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship, set to be hosted by Poland and Sweden.
Ranked sixth through eighth on the final standings were Iraq, Kuwait and Uzbekistan, respectively. Ninth through 16th overall were the UAE, Oman, Hong Kong, Jordan, Vietnam, Singapore, India and Australia.
Bahrain, coached by Aron Kristjansson from Iceland, competed in the Asian championship with a 19-player squad. Aside from last night’s scorers, the rest of the team featured Bilal Basham, Mohammed Habib Nasser, Mohammed Ali Ab[1]dulredha, Abdulla Ali, Hussain Mahfouz, Ahmed Al Maqabi, Ali Abdulqader, Ahmed Jalal, Qasim Qambar and Hisham Ahmed Issa.
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