Qatar defended their title defeating Bahrain 27-22 in the final of the 17th Asian Handball Championship at Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town last night.
Bahrain’s Mahmood Abdulbaqer topped his team’s goal-scoring list with eight goals while Qatar’s Markovic Zarko slotted home nine goals himself.
The match saw early signs of a tough competition between the two sides as Bahrain’s Hussain Al Sayyad got his first two-minute suspension in the first 35 seconds. Qatar were awarded a penalrty which Zarko converted to give the visitors the lead.
Qatar’s Memsivic Eldar doubled their lead in the third minute as their defence looked unbeatable.
However, Bahrain’s star player of the tournament, Abbas Al Salatna, managed to end Bahrain’s goal drought three and a half minutes into the game.
Bahrain were trailing until the 16th minute when Hassan Al Fardan managed to give the hosts their first lead, 7-6.
Qatar however quickly equalised and grabbed the lead once again within two minutes through goals by Mahmoud Hassaballa and Zarko to make it 8-7.
The rest of the first half saw Bahrain trail by a goal as Mohammed Habib missed a last-minute penalty to end the session 11-12 in Qatar’s favour.
Bahrain’s weakest link was their right wing as Spanish coach Fernando Barbeito focused more on attacks from the left wing.
Bahrain’s goalkeeper Mohammed Hussain Abdulla kept his team’s hopes alive during the first half with top-class saves on numerous occasions.
The first half had also seen Bahrain put in a tight performance in defence, depending mainly on fast breaks for their goals which gave Qatar’s goalkeeper Danijel Saric no chance to save.
Bahrain started the second half in stronger fashion as Mohammed Merza managed to tie the score before Habib put the hosts ahead for the second time in the match.
Qatar, however, managed to quickly respond with three goals from Zarko, Borja Fernandes and Hassaballa.
The match saw a two-minute break in between as Qatar had two players receiving two-minute bans, reducing their on-field players to only four.
Their coach Valeri Rivera accidentally played one of the suspended players before his allocated time was up.
The decision sparked an uproar from the Bahraini coaching staff, which alerted the referee’s table and the player was recalled.
Bahrain could not capitalise on the temporary absence of key Qatari players as Qatar’s on-field players had managed to keep the lead to themselves and slowed the tempo of the game.
Upon the return of their banned players, Rafael Capote and Youssef Ali, Qatar managed to take more control of the game, expanding their leads on multiple occasions.
Capote himself scored five superb goals with only 10 minutes left to lead the visitors to their second Asian Championship triumph.
The match for the third place saw Japan defeat Saudi Arabia 25-16. The Japanese had led the first half 12-7.
Fifth to 11th places went to Iran, South Korea, UAE, Oman, China, Lebanon and Syria respectively.
His Majesty the King’s Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sport (SCYS) Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) President Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa deputised SCYS First Deputy Chairman and Bahrain Athletics Association (BAA) President Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, to attend the final.
Shaikh Khalid presented the Qatari team with the trophy and gold medals. Shaikh Mohammed bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, son of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, presented the Bahraini players with the silver medals while BOC General Secretary Abdulrahman Askar presented the Japanese team with the bronze medals.
Qatar and Bahrain had also met at the last edition’s final when Qatar managed to record a 27-26 win and claim their first Asian title.
They later went into the World Championship and managed to end their run in second place.
The tournament, hosted by Bahrain for the second consecutive time, also serves as a qualifier to the World Championships in France next January.
The top five teams – Qatar, Bahrain, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Iran – all booked their berth to the World Championships.
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