Shabab take fifth in Gulf clubs handball

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s Al Shabab clinched fifth place overall last night on the final classification of the 40th Gulf Clubs Handball Championships, being held in Doha.

The Bahrainis secured their final ranking after defeating Mleeha of the UAE 37-33 in their placement match for fifth.

Shabab led 19-17 at the half, but Mleeha fought back and took a 27-26 lead midway through the concluding 30 minutes.

But Ahmed Jalal replied immediately for Shabab to get the match back on level terms, and then the Bahrainis took the lead for good, 30-29, with an Ahmed Redha goal from the six-metre line.

Later, Jalal had a steal and a conversion from beyond midcourt into an empty net, putting Shabab ahead 32-29.

They never looked back from there and extended their gap to seven, 37-30, with three minutes to go before cruising to the final whistle.

Redha was named the Player of the Match for Shabab, and he received an award post-game for his efforts.

Meanwhile, Bahrain’s other outfit in the tournament, Al Dair will be vying for the bronze medals today in the game for third place.

Dair will be taking on Al Arabi of Qatar at 4pm.

It will be a rematch of both teams’ clash during the preliminary round in Group A, which was won by Arabi 27-24.

Dair are hoping to win a medal for the Kingdom in the competition.

Last year, Bahrain’s Al Najma clinched the silver medals in the tournament held on home soil, with Al Ahli finishing fifth overall.