Bahrain have Olympics in sight!

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s senior men’s national handball team last night took one major step towards realising their dream of qualifying for their second successive Olympic Games. The Bahrainis pulled off a dramatic 30-29 victory over Gulf rivals Qatar to barge through to the final of the Asian Men’s Qualification competition, currently being held in Doha.

The nationals staved off a late charge from their opponents and managed to come away with the nail-biting triumph, despite the ejection of influential skipper Hussain Al Sayyad, who was shown a red card with still over 10 minutes to play in the first half.

Mohammed Habib Ahmed scored the winning goal with 16 seconds remaining, firing in a fine effort from the penalty line. Star goalkeeper Mohammed Abdulhussain then saved Qatar’s last-ditch attempt at levelling the scores, parrying away a shot by Frankis Marzo. It was a fantastic ending to the game for Bahrain in a hotly contested affair that could have gone either way.

The nationals also avenged their loss to Qatar in the gold medal match of the recently concluded Hangzhou Asian Games, where they had to settle for the silver medals. Bahrain will now take on either Japan or South Korea in the qualifiers’ final, scheduled to be held tomorrow.

The winner of that game will punch their tickets to next year’s Paris Olympics. The Japanese and South Koreans faced off in yesterday’s other semi-final, held late at night. There is only one direct berth available in the Asian Men’s Qualification event.

However, tomorrow’s losing side will still have one chance to make it to the French capital, but will need to compete against other top handball nations from around the world in one of three qualifying tournaments, also to be held in 2024.

Bahrain are aiming to secure their place in a second straight Olympic Games following their historic debut in Tokyo in 2021. It was not only the national team’s first time competing in the men’s handball tournament at any Olympics, but it was also the Kingdom’s maiden appearance in any team sport in the history of the quadrennial global showcase.

Intense In Bahrain’s intense battle with Qatar last night, the nationals were boosted by a group of Bahraini fans who travelled from the Kingdom to the Qatari capital to support the team. The Bahrain Olympic Committee had organised buses to transport the local contingent by road in time for the contest.

Bahrain held a 28-24 lead heading into the game’s closing stages, but the home side made a valiant surge and scored four unanswered goals, capped by an Ahmed Madadi strike on a fast-break. The Bahrainis were able to reply on the ensuing possession, with Hassan Shehab scoring on a broken play from the six-metre line.

The Qataris levelled the proceedings once again, this time through Marwane Sassi who scored from the right wing. But that set the stage for Ahmed’s game-winning penalty and Abdulhussain’s all-important save. Earlier in the match, Bahrain had a good start and led 5-2 following an Ahmed Fadhel goal. The nationals continued to stay ahead but then Al Sayyad was given his marching orders, and the nationals took a slim 15-14 advantage into the interval.

After the re-start, the Bahrainis scored the first goals of the concluding 30-minute period, and maintained a four-goal cushion for much of the half, until the furious finish.