Bahrain, Japan in Asian handball stalemate

TDT | Manama                                              

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Title hopefuls Bahrain and Japan played to a 31-all deadlock last night in their final Group B game in the preliminary round of the 17th Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship, being hosted by the Kingdom at the Khalifa Sports City arena in Isa Town.

Goals from Bahrain’s Jassim Khamis and Japan’s Shin Izumoto in the final minute of play forged the stalemate. The home side had a chance to win it in the last second with an effort from Khamis, but his shot against a Japanese defensive wall was saved by goalkeeper Hiroto Imai.

The result earned the two sides a share of the points. They finished tied with five apiece on the final division standings, but the Bahrainis emerged as group winners having a greater goal difference than the Japanese. Bahrain will therefore face in the semi-finals the runners-up of Group A. Japan will go head-to-head with the Group A winners, who will be known tonight.

The nationals did well to battle back from a 14-18 deficit at the half to nearly steal the win in the closing minutes. They tied it at 25-all with a Mahmood Alkhunaizi goal and even took the lead with a fine effort from Mohammed Rabia, but the Japanese answered with an Izumoto goal and it was a see-saw affair until the end.

After tying the contest at 29-apiece, Rabia broke the deadlock with just over two minutes to play. The Japanese then levelled things once more, however, through Naoki Fujisaka on the opposing end, before Khamis scored with a floating shot over Imai to make it 31-30. Izumoto finally pegged the final score with a fine throw into the bottom-left corner of the net with just seconds on the game clock.

Khamis had one last chance to win it for the home team in the final second, but his shot was saved by Imai. Rabia spearheaded the Bahrainis’ attack with nine goals. He was later named the Best Player of the Match and was presented with an award.

Khamis chipped in with seven goals while Alkhunaizi had five and Komail Ali, Ali Alahseeri and Abdulla Ali contributed three apiece. For Japan, Ren Arase was their top scorer with nine goals, while Fujisaka scored six and Izumoto five. In yesterday’s other Group B game, Pakistan defeated India 36-23 to claim their first and only win of the preliminary round.

The Pakistanis led 16-10 at the half and did well to finish their opponents off in the closing 30-minute period. Muhammad Zain Ahsan Khan was their top scorer with 12 goals, while Muaaz Ali, who was selected as the Best Player of the Match, added eight. For India, Anuj Sheokand, Mohit and Harsh Chaudhary all had four goals apiece.

Pakistan’s first win earned them third place on the final Group B standings, and they will play in the final classification matches. Today, the last games in Group A will be held. At 4pm, defending champions South Korea take on Saudi Arabia, while at 6.30pm Iran face off with Kuwait. The South Koreans and Kuwaitis currently lead their division standings with three points apiece, but Saudi also have a chance to advance to the final four with two points.