The Bahrain 2021 Asian Youth Para Games saw five countries – Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Philippines, and Saudi Arabia – make their Under 23 debut at a major competition, alongside I.R. Iran and Thailand.
Played over six days in a round-robin format at Khalifa Sports City Hall, the top two teams of the group would progress to the final and play for gold, with the teams in third and fourth in the group stage fighting it out for the bronze medal. The top two teams would not only play for the gold medal, but would book their ticket to Chiba next year to compete in the Men’s U23 World Championship.
Iran comfortably made the final remaining undefeated in the group stage, whilst it was Iraq who edged second place thanks to a narrow win over their nearest competitors Thailand on the opening day of the competition, 42-31.
Saudi Arabia claimed the fourth spot in the group with a better points difference following a three-way tie between them, Bahrain, and the Philippines, resulting in…