“A historical achievement”: Behind Bahrain’s run for the main round at Germany/Greece 2023

One of the biggest surprises – if not the biggest – at the 24th IHF Men’s Junior World Championship was Bahrain securing a place in the main round after they finished second in a group featuring Sweden, Slovenia and Greenland.

The Asian side was not considered one of the dark horses of the competition before the start of the championship. Yet, they duly delivered an excellent performance in the preliminary round, with the highlight being a 29:29 draw against Slovenia in the second match of the preliminary round in Athens.

Bahrain, the runners-up at the 2022 AHF Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship, led throughout the whole game, only for the game to finish in a draw after Slovenia converted a last-second penalty. Still, it was a huge result for Bahrain, the first-ever game in this age category they did not lose against a European team, and a game which helped them seal their best performance at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, after ending up on the 17th place in the previous two editions.

“Qualifying for this stage can be seen as an unprecedented historical achievement for Bahrain handball and is a clear reflection of the development of our handball in the last years,” says goalkeeper Hesham Isa.

Indeed, since making their debut at the IHF Men’s World Championship in 2011, Bahrain have constantly improved, with the 16th place at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship being their best place ever.

Under the supervision of Icelandic coach Aron Kristjánsson, Bahrain have also qualified for the first time ever for the Olympic Games, ending the Tokyo 2020 edition on the eighth place, another milestone for handball in Bahrain.

“Our results have recently seen many impressive achievements and excellent results, the most important being, in my opinion, qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and finishing on the eighth place. Being regulars at the IHF Men’s World Championship is also a huge performance,” says Isa.

“We have an endless ambition ceiling. Despite the achievement of reaching the main round here, at Germany/Greece 2023 and at Poland/Sweden 2023, in the senior competition, we still want better results, and we will fight to achieve top results in these competitions.”

From the team that represents Bahrain at Germany/Greece 2023, Isa is the only player who has also been in the team at Poland/Sweden 2023, saving nine shots of the 59 he faced there in six games.

The confidence Kristjánsson put in Isa helped the 20-year-old goalkeeper flourish, as he is now seen by many as the next in line to take the shot stopper position in the senior national team.

“When I started handball at my club, Al-Deir, I fell in love with the sport and I got better and better until I reached all the milestones I wanted. I love handball because it is a competitive sport,” adds Isa.

That competitive spirit was there to be seen for Bahrain not only against Slovenia, in that amazing 29:29 draw, but also in the game against Greenland, which set the largest margin of a win for any team at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship since 1999.

The maths were simple: if Slovenia lost against Sweden and Bahrain won against Greenland, the two teams would be tied on points, so the goal difference was going to be the tiebreaker.

Bahrain needed a win by at least 42 goals to secure a place in the main round and they did their utmost, playing a fast-paced game, to give themselves the best chance they could to progress.

It proved to be one of the biggest wins in the history of Bahrain handball, with Jasim Khamis scoring 15 goals, while Mohamed Rabia and Ali Alasheeri scored nine goals each to help the Asian side score more than one goal per minute to clinch a 63:13 win. It was enough to progress to the main round, as the celebrations started immediately.

“We were mentally, psychologically and technically prepared to play under these difficult circumstances, we knew we had to win by a lot of goals, and we delivered a perfect match on both sides of the ball. We won by 50 goals and qualified after Slovenia lost against Sweden. It was an amazing feeling,” says Isa.

With the main round berth secured, Bahrain tried to get as much as possible from their first game there against Hungary, constantly pushing the more experienced European side, who led by only two goals at the break.

Isa saved six shots, adding to his overall tally of 31 saves in the competition, but he could not prevent a 21:27 loss. Another defeat against Denmark followed (28:22) and even though they missed out on a place in the quarter-finals, they remain true to their motto to try hard, no matter their opponent. Their story is truly inspirational and they are definitely a team to watch in the future.