HANDBALL – BAHRAIN eked out a 26-24 victory over Saudi Arabia yesterday in their concluding preliminary round match of the 25th IHF Men’s U21 Handball World Championship 2025, currently being played in Poland.
Both sides were already out of the running for the title heading into the contest. They are both next to play in the President’s Cup – the tournament’s lower-tier bracket which will decide 17th to 32nd places.
The Bahrainis battled back from a half-time deficit yesterday against their Gulf neighbours. They trailed 12-13 at the break, and then later fell behind by as many as three goals, 16-19.
But the nationals charged back and tied the contest at 21-apiece with an Abbas Ali penalty as the game headed into its final 10 minutes. Things remained close until an Ahmed Fardan effort with under three minutes to play gave them the advantage for good at 24-23.
Further conversions from Salman Alshowaikh on a fastbreak and Mahmood Yusuf sealed the win for Bahrain. They then gave up a goal to Saudi’s Mohammed Alqaid in the closing seconds that pegged the final score.
Yusuf finished as the Bahrainis’ top scorer with seven goals, while Ali contributed six in their first win of the competition. Sayed Mahmood Alfalahi chipped in with four, while Fardan had three. Three other players contributed two goals apiece, including Alshowaikh, Sayed Mohamed Alfalahi, and Maitham Mahdi.
Alqaid paced Saudi with five goals, while Sajjad Al Fardan added four in the loss.
The result put Bahrain in third place in Group H to finish the preliminary round. Egypt took first place after edging past Spain 30-29 in yesterday’s other divisional fixture.
The Bahrainis will next compete in the President’s Cup, where they are in Group IV along with the Saudis, Tunisia, and one other side from Group G.
The result from their game against the Saudis carries over to this ensuing stage.
They open their schedule against Tunisia tomorrow, and then play their other fixture the next day. The results of these matches will determine their bracket for the competition’s final classification.
Bahrain qualified for this year’s world IHF Men’s U21 World Championship after placing third in the 18th Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship last year in Amman, Jordan.
This year’s event marks the fourth time Bahrain will be playing in junior handball’s premier global competition.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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