Bahrain make dominant start in Asian volleyball

TDT | Manama                                                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain enjoyed a dominant start to the 21st Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship this evening and joined yesterday’s other winners South Korea, India, China and Thailand in securing their places to the round of 12 of the continental competition, currently being hosted by Bahrain at Isa Sports City in Riffa.

The Bahrainis breezed past Hong Kong 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-16) in their opening Pool A contest. That was enough to seal their berth in the ensuing phase, as Hong Kong suffered their second successive loss in their group.

Meanwhile, South Korea, China and Thailand marched through as group winners. The South Koreans and Chinese both claimed their second successive wins in preliminary round play, while Thailand won their lone fixture of this stage.

The South Koreans claimed a fine 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-17) sweep of Kuwait in Pool C, while China battled past Chinese-Taipei 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25- 22) in Pool F. Thailand, on the other hand, won 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-16) against the UAE to secure their place in first place in Pool D.

Despite the loss, the Emiratis also advanced to the round of 12 as they are the only two teams in their group. India made it through to the next stage after ousting Japan 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23) in Pool B.

They handed the Japanese their second straight loss and eliminated them from title contention. Also winners yesterday were Iraq, who beat Australia 3-1 (25- 20, 18-25, 25-22, 25-23) in Pool E, where they, along with Bangladesh, are contending for the two places from their group in the next phase.

Tournament action continues today with the last day of the preliminaries. Matches start from 2pm. All are welcome and entrance is free. Following a rest day on Thursday, the next phase will be held from Friday, with the top 12 teams playing in their bracket while the 13th- to 17th-ranked squads competing in their classification round.

Momentum

In Bahrain’s win last night, the nationals had complete control in the first two sets and then sealed the result in style, quickly halting any momentum Hong Kong gained early in the third frame.

Bahrain head coach Sabeur Abdulwahed said after the game: “It was a very important game, to get the first win of this tournament. Hashem Ali Sayed and Ali Alarab led the Bahrainis with 11 points apiece, while team captain Husain Ehsan chipped in with nine.

Hasan Alalaiwi and Hasan Warqaa added seven points apiece. Wan Ka Nam had eight points to pace Hong Kong. The Bahrainis next lock horns with Saudi Arabia today in their final Pool A fixture, with the winner taking first place into the next round.

Saudi are also already through but were not in action yesterday. It will be a rematch of the West Asian volleyball final held last month, when the Saudis defeated Bahrain for the title. “This is a completely new game,” said Coach Abdulwahed.

“Our objective is to finish first in the group. Our team is focused 100 per cent to win.” In South Korea’s triumph, they took care of another Gulf rival after sweeping Qatar the day before. Their result against Kuwait assured them of first place in Pool C, with the Qataris and Kuwaitis facing off today to claim second and the other berth in the next round.

South Korean opposite hitter Hyeonil Seo said after their match: “It was a comfortable win and it led us to have more good vibes from our play, but we’re going to keep our focus and a strong mindset for the upcoming matches and we’ll keep fighting.”

Bosuk Jang top scored for South Korea with 17 points, while Seo and Yunsoo Lee added 10 apiece. Fares Alsarraj was the leading scorer for Kuwait with eight points. India came away with an impressive victory against Japan, who are now out of further title contention after also losing to Iran on the championship’s opening day.

The Indians sealed their berth in the next stage with their first win, and they take on Iran today for Pool B supremacy. Iran are also already assured of their berth despite not being in action yesterday.

India head coach G E Sridharan said: “It was a good match. Our boys played extraordinary today. Japan is a very difficult opponent. We are very happy that we are moving forward. We will continue to fight to gain the best position.”

Chaudhary Tanish led India with 15 points while Hiroto Nishiyama had 20 markers to pace Japan. For China, they followed up their victory over Pakistan in their first game with their come-from-behind win against Chinese-Taipei this evening.

Zhou Xin paced China with 23 points, while Yi-Kay Wen had 19 for Chinese-Taipei in their loss. China thus completed their Pool F campaign with an unbeaten record in two matches, while leaving Pakistan and Chinese-Taipei to contest for the other ticket to the round of 12.

In Pool D, Thailand won their only game of the preliminaries. They are now through to the ensuing phase as group winners, as are the Emiratis as runners-up. Phasit Sukaew had 15 points to spearhead the Thais, while Masood Darawish paced the UAE with 10 points. In Pool E, Iraq beat Australia to bounce back from their opening day loss to Bangladesh.

Mustafa Mousa led the victors with 17 points, while William D’Arcy-Miles paced their Aussie counterparts with 19 points. Bangladesh and Australia now face off Wednesday in the final Pool E contest to decide the finishing order in their group, and the two teams that will advance.