Young Falcons’ final-four finish secures spot at 2023 Men’s Youth World Championship in Croatia Saudi Arabia have grabbed the bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship after beating Japan 26-25 in the third-place playoff at Khalifa Sports City Hall in Manama. The win is the Young Falcons’ best-ever finish in the competition. The ninth edition of the tournament, which concluded in Bahrain on Wednesday, also acted as a qualifying campaign for the 2023 International Handball Federation Men’s Youth (under-19) World Championship in Croatia, with Saudi Arabia booking their place in next year’s showpiece event by reaching the semifinals. The first half was tightly contested with Japan taking a 7-5 lead by the halfway point before Saudi Arabia led 10-8 on the 20th minute. The Japanese team hit back to take a narrow 13-12 lead at the break. Japan extended the deficit to lead 20-15 nine minutes after the break, but by the 24th minute Saudi Arabia had squared the match 24-24, before grabbing the win by one point. Saudi player Ahmed Qusay Al-Said was named man of the match for the fourth time in the tournament.