Bahrain win five more medals at end of GCC Games

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain signed off last night from the third GCC Games in Kuwait winning five more medals, to bring their final overall tally to 64 to end the prestigious multi-sport event.

The nationals’ five medals on the last day included two silver and three bronze medals.

The silver medals were claimed by the men’s handball team and Salem Aljuma in men’s karate. The bronze medals were claimed by Ali Ahmed in men’s karate and the men’s epee and foil teams in fencing.

The five-medal haul improved Bahrain’s overall tally to 64 on the six-nation medal table. They finished the GCC Games in second place with 20 gold medals , 23 silver and 21 bronze.

Kuwait took first place on the table, while behind Bahrain from third through sixth were the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman.

It was a disappointing end to the men’s handball competition last night, as Bahrain were among the favourites to claim the gold. They battled hard in the final until the very last second, but came up short at the end in a 28-29 defeat.

Aggressors

The nationals started off the match as the early aggressors and were in command 6-3 following a Mahdi Habib goal. But the Qataris gradually found their rhythm and took control of the contest before the half, taking a 16-13 advantage into the interval.

In the final 30-minute period, the nationals fell behind by as many as four goals, but then they came roaring back to tie the proceedings at 19-all to set up a nail-biting finish. Bahrain tried valiantly to keep up with the Qataris.

With under three minutes remaining, they missed out on a crucial opportunity to tie the game at 27-all, when on a three-on-one fastbreak, Ali Eid could not convert his attempt on goal.

Bahrain’s Salem Aljuma, left, with his silver medal and the other winners of the men’s kumite under-84kg category