Bahrain all set for Asian clubs volleyball action

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

The stage is set for the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, set to be hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain from tomorrow to May 21.

The event is being held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority (GSA) president and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) chief His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

It features 16 leading volleyball teams from across the continent, with top players, including professionals, from all over the world. Hosts Bahrain are being represented by former national champions Al Ahli Club.

The tournament’s arbitration and organising committees held a coordination meeting yesterday, chaired by arbitration committee head Emile Jabbour from Lebanon.

The committees also conducted an inspection of the competition venue, including the two arenas that will host matches, and the practice courts. The official technical meeting will be held Saturday night as part of the final lead-up to the start of action.

Eight games are to be held each day along two halls at Isa Sports City in Riffa from 11.30am onwards. The last fixtures of the day are scheduled to start no earlier than 7pm.

The Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) is inviting the general public to attend and enjoy the tournament’s lively atmosphere while cheering on the participating teams.

Entrance to all games is completely free of charge. The competition has been organised by the BVA, in cooperation with the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), BOC and GSA. The field of 16 has been divided into four pools of four clubs each for the preliminary round.

A majority of the clubs have already arrived in the Kingdom and have begun their final preparations for the tournament. Bahrain’s Ahli are in Pool A along with Korean Air Jumbos Pro-Volleyball Club from South Korea, Canberra Heat from Australia, and Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi from Indonesia. Pool B is set to feature Shahdab Yazd from Iran, South Gas Sports Club from Iraq, Taichung Bank from Chinese-Taipei, and Kam Air VC from Afghanistan.

Pool C comprises Suntory Sunbirds from Japan, Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force from Thailand, Bayankhongor Crownd Geo VC from Mongolia, and Khaypil Sports Club from Yemen.

Pool D features Atyrau VC from Kazakhstan, Police Sports Team from Qatar, Aspiring Volleyball Team from Hong Kong, and Kuwait Sporting Club from Kuwait. Following a single round-robin, the top two teams from each preliminary round pool move on to the round of eight, where they will again be divided into two further pools.

The head-to-head results from the preliminaries will be carried over. That will then determine the teams that will advance to the knockout semi-finals. The bottom two squads from the preliminary round pools will play in the placement pools.

The champions of this year’s tournament will qualify for the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship.

This year’s event will be the second time the Kingdom of Bahrain is staging the competition. It previously held the 2007 edition, which was won by Paykan Tehran of Iran. Last year’s competition was also won by Paykan, when they defeated the Suntory Sunbirds in the final.

A Bahrain club has yet to step onto the podium in the tournament. The AVC’s sponsoring companies include Mikasa, Senoh Sports Equipment, Gerflor, Grand Sport, SMM Sport, PPTV HD 36, Coco MAX, Euro Cake, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, Beger, EST Cola and Isuzu. Additional sponsors are Ahli United Bank, National Bank of Bahrain, Jahez, Kuwait Finance House, GPIC, Tamkeen, Spartan Fitness, Southern Tourism Company, Al Saqi Factory, Al Fares Food Packing Factory, Baraka and Ulhsport.