*** ----> Bahrain volleyball chief welcomes Asian under-20 participants | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Bahrain volleyball chief welcomes Asian under-20 participants

TDT | Manama                                                                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The 21st Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship gets underway today at the Isa Sports City in Riffa. Five matches will be taking place from 2pm, with Japan and Iran kicking off the action in Pool B.

Matches are being played at the Bahrain Volleyball Association’s (BVA) Isa bin Rashid Arena and Bahrain Table Tennis Association Arena at Isa Sports City. All are welcome to attend.

Entrance is free of charge. BVA president and chairman of the tournament’s supreme organising committee, Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, welcomed all the participating nations to the Kingdom, along with all the volleyball officials and representatives from the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC).

Shaikh Ali expressed his hope for everyone to enjoy their stay and experience the best of Bahraini hospitality. Shaikh Ali highlighted his great confidence in the championship’s working committees to deliver a successful tournament along with the AVC.

A total of 17 nations are taking part in the competition. Hosts Bahrain are in Pool A along with Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. Pool B features India with Japan and Iran; Pool C includes South Korea, Qatar and Kuwait; Pool D features Thailand and the UAE; Pool E includes Iraq, Australia and Bangladesh; and Pool F comprises China, Chinese-Taipei and Pakistan.

Following the preliminaries, a drawing of lots for classification one to 12 (top two teams from each pool) will be conducted. The teams which have already played each other in the preliminaries will not meet again in the one-to-12 classification, while the third-ranked teams of each pool will be relegated to contest the 13-to-18 classification.

The last edition of the competition was held in 2018, also held in Bahrain. Iran were crowned champions after beating South Korea in the final. Bahrain had an impressive campaign, finishing ninth overall amongst the 23 participating teams.