Bahrain’s Al Najma are super

22 Sep. 2021

Bahrain’s Al Najma are super

The Bahrain Super Cup opened the 2021/22 Bahrain handball season on Monday night (20 September) as Al Najma beat Barbar 35:28 (20:13) at the Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town.

In front of 700 fans from each team following strict COVID-19 protocols, Barbar got off to the worst possible start, missing their first attack and not able to score their first goal until the seventh minute. By that time, they were already 0:2 down – and it got worse for them as they went further behind, resulting in a team time-out inside the first 10 minutes (2:6).

Al Najma were ruthless, going five up (12:7) after 20 minutes, extending it to seven (20:13) at half-time and despite their best efforts in the second period, Barbar could not make up the deficit, eventually losing 35:28.

His Highness Sheikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Vice President of the Public Sports Authority, alongside President of the Bahrain Handball Federation, Ali Mohamed Isa Eshaqi, presented the winners and runners-up with their medals and trophy in the closing ceremony. 

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According to local media reports, a number of children belonging to the ‘Smile Initiative’ participated in the opening ceremony. The Smile Initiative, established within the goals of the Bahrain government’s Future Society for Youth, aims to “direct youth volunteer efforts to provide all aspects of support to children who are fighting cancer and their parents”, according to their website.

The 2021 Super Cup win for Al Najma means they will face United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) team Sharjah in the Bahrain-UAE Gulf Super Championship to be held this Saturday (25 September) in the UAE after Sharjah Club became four-time winners of the UAE Men's Super Cup at Al Nasr Club Hall in Dubai on 9 September, defeating Al Jazira Club 26:22.

Al Najma and Barbar have dominated Bahraini men’s handball in recent years, with Al Najma beating Barbar 31:24 (20:13) in the 2021 Bahrain Handball League final last March and the two teams supplying more than half of the players for the Bahrain men’s national squad at their historic Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games appearance.

Photos: Bahrain Handball Federation