Manama, January 26 (BNA) — Bahrain picked up a well-earned 32-22 win over China to make a flying start in the 16th Asian Men’s Handball Championship.
Mahmood Abdulqader scored crucial goals in the closing stages as tournament’s hosts Bahrain passed their first hurdle in Group ‘A’, which also consists of defending champions Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Uzbekistan.
The victory gave Bahrain two valuable points in their bid to finish in the top two for a berth in the semi-finals. The tournament also acts as a qualifier for next year’s World Championship, to be held in Doha.
Bahrain proved the stronger side in their 60-minute opener against an improving China, who started the game on a high note after taking a one-goal lead, as they mostly relied on their left winger Xin Zhao, Xiaojian Zhou, Zhiyu Zhang and Xudong Wang.
But as the game progressed, the Bahrainis gradually came back and they eventually took over the lead, thanks to some excellent saves from goalkeepers Mohammed Abdulhussain and Salah Abduljalil.
Bahrain coached by Algerian Salah Bushokrio, also showed solid defence and quick counter attacks by Mahmood Abdulqader, Mahdi Madan, Hassan Al Samahiji, Ali Hussain, Jassim Al Salatna, Hussain Al Sayyad and skipper Jaffer Abdulqader.
China’s defence and their goalkeeper Quan Wang struggled to stop Bahrain’s well-organised efforts and the latter put on a superb show towards the closing stages of the first-half, which ended in their favour 14-12.
There was no stopping Bahrain, who improved on their overall performance in the second-half and stretched their lead to three goals while making the most of their stamina and powerful finishings.
Backed by hundreds of home supporters, including former national team captain Saeed Johar who was honoured in a testimonial ceremony early on, Bahrain were unstoppable as they extended their advantage to seven goals in the last 10 minutes.
The next round of matches in Group ‘A’ is scheduled for Monday when Bahrain face Uzbekistan, while China look to bag their maiden win in the competition against Korea.
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BNA 0739 GMT 2014/01/26