Bahrain beat Saudi in handball friendly

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national handball team defeated their counterparts from Saudi Arabia 29-26 yesterday in an international friendly match played at the Bahrain Handball Association Arena in Um Al Hassam.

The game was played as part of both teams’ preparations for the 28th International Handball Federation (IHF) Men’s Handball World Championship, taking place next month to be co-hosted by Poland and Sweden.

The nationals held a 14-10 advantage at the half and did well to hold on to their lead over the final 30 minutes of the contest.

The tune-up was the first for Bahrain in the coming weeks leading up to the global competition, which is scheduled for an 11 January start.

The Bahrainis will next face off with Belarus in back-to-back contests tomorrow and Tuesday, also at home.

In addition, the nationals will compete in a warm-up tournament in Spain in early January, with other participating nations Argentina, and Romania and hosts Spain.

The Argentinians and Spaniards are also playing in the world.

Coached by Aron Kristjansson from Iceland, Bahrain is in Group H for the world championship along with Denmark, Belgium and Tunisia.

The 32 nations from five confederations have been divided into eight groups for the tournament’s preliminary stage.

The upcoming event will mark Bahrain’s fifth appearance at global handball’s premier competition, and fourth straight.

The nationals had previously also played in 2011, 2017, 2019 and 2021 editions.