Bahrain will play Iran today in their final Group B match, which will essentially be a quarter-final, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals of the Asian Men’s Handball Qualification Tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics in Doha, Qatar. .
Bahrain is in second place in the five-team standings with four points from three games, behind Japan, which has already advanced to the semifinals with four consecutive wins.
Iran also has four points but is in third place based on goal difference.
Both teams have had contrasting paths through the group stage.
Bahrain started the tournament with a complete victory over Kazakhstan, 46-18, but lost to Japan, 27-26, by just one point. However, they bounced back in the third game and defeated Kuwait 34-26, keeping their hopes of advancing to the final four stage alive.
Meanwhile, after losing to Japan 25-20 in their first match, Iran won a thrilling 29-28 victory over Kuwait by one point. They defeated Kazakhstan 42-20 in the third game, setting the stage for today’s important match against Bahrain.
Bahrain head coach Aaron Kristjansson predicted that Iran would be a difficult opponent as Iran’s style of play is similar to that favored by Eastern European teams, but the team will work hard to win the match. He declared that he would fight.
“Iran is always a difficult and tough opponent,” he told GDN by phone from Doha.
“And now they are likely to become even stronger because since the Asian Games earlier this month, they have added professional players to their squad who play in European leagues.
“These new recruits are tall and very physical players, so they are likely to really test us. Also, Iran is likely to be similar to European teams, more specifically Eastern European teams. is one of the few teams in Asia that plays this style of handball.
“And we have to be prepared for their shooters. Iran relies heavily on shooters, so our defense has to be ready to counter them.”
Kristiansson added that Bahrain need to develop an attacking strategy to minimize the threat posed by the new tall Iranian players.
“We need to find a way around their big players and find weaknesses in their defense,” he explained.
“It will be a tough battle, but we have prepared thoroughly for this matchup, so we hope we can win and advance to the semi-finals.”