South Korea held, Saudi triumph in Asian junior handball

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Defending champions South Korea were held to a thrilling draw by Kuwait while Saudi Arabia beat Iran yesterday in the opening Group A games of the 17th Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship, being held in the Kingdom. The South Koreans battled back from a half-time deficit and could have won their match against the Kuwaitis, but a fantastic save by goalkeeper Ahmad Aljuwaieed on a late penalty throw helped forge the stalemate. Saudi, on the other hand, outlasted Iran 32-28 in their game.

In the South Korea-Kuwait contest, the East Asians trailed 13-14 at the interval and fell behind by as many as four goals in the second half. But they battled back to forge a tie and then took a 26-25 lead on a fastbreak by Hyesung Cha. Kuwait, however, were able to tie the proceedings once again through Mahdi Alhaddad, and that set the stage for the nail-biting finish.

The South Koreans were handed a golden opportunity to potentially claim the victory with a penalty in the final seconds, but the shot from Cha was brilliantly saved by Aljuwaieed, who was later named the Best Player of the Match. In Saudi’s win, they held a slim 14-13 advantage at the half but were able to widen the gap en route to securing the final winning margin.

Group A action resumes tomorrow with Saudi and Kuwait clashing at 4pm followed by Iran taking on South Korea at 6.30pm. Today, the Group B teams will take to the court. In the early match at 4pm, Pakistan face off with Japan followed at 6.30pm by India taking on hosts Bahrain. The Japanese and Bahrainis were winners in their opening assignments on Friday. All are welcome to watch the games. Entrance to the venue is free of charge.