Al Ahli off to rousing start!

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

Bahrain’s Al Ahli made a spectacular start to the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship being hosted by the Kingdom yesterday, as favourites Suntory Sunbirds from Japan, Shahdab Yazd of Iran and Korean Air Jumbos Pro-Volleyball Club from South Korea were also victorious.

Ahli needed five sets to topple Ja karta Bhayangkara Presisi from Indonesia , but the continental giants, billed as the top contenders for the coveted title in the 16-nation tournament, all lived up to expectations.

They claimed their respective assignments in straight sets at Isa Sports City in Riffa.

Other winners on day one were Gulf sides Kuwait Sporting Club of Kuwait and Police Sports Team from Qatar, as well as Taichung Bank from Chinese-Taipei and Khaypil Sports Club from Yemen.

Attending yesterday ’s games were Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) vice-president His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, BOC secretary general Faris Al Kooheji, and other high-ranking officials from the BVA and Asian Volleyball Confederation.

Ahli fell behind twice against Bhayangkara in their head-to-head, but the Bahrainis showed their resolve and rallied to the all-important 3-2 (26-28, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 15-6) victory.

Mohammed Anan finished with a team-high 18 points, while Mohammed Yaqoob added 15 and Brazilian Gabriel Candido contributed 13.

“When I came into the game, I tried to do something, push our guys and inject some energy,” said Candido.

“This win was important for us today, but this is finished and tomorrow we will need more concentration. Korea have good blocking and good attacking. It will not be easy but we will be prepared for this.”

Packed

Nasser Anan praised Ahli’s fans who packed the arena to support their team, giving them an extra boost in their come-from-behind win. “The fans were number one,” he said.

“We are playing in Bahrain, we are at home. The fans gave us more strength, and after this win, we are even more encouraged to do our best.”

Suntory Sunbirds, runners-up in last year’s competition, outclassed Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force from Thailand 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-19) in their Pool C encounter.

Former Olympic gold-medallist and multi-titled international volleyball star Dmitry Muserskiy from Russia towered over his opponents to finish with 20 points.

Cuban teammate Alain Junior de Armas added 18 markers, while Kenya Fujinaka scored 11 for the Sunbirds.

Shahdab Yazd cruised against South Gas Sports Club of Iraq 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18) in Pool B.

Amir Ghafour finished with 15 points to lead the Iranians as they look to follow in the footsteps of their countrymen from Paykan Tehran, who were the champions from last year’s Asian clubs event.

Korean Air Jumbos Pro-Volleyball Club were just as dominant in their game over Canberra Heat from Australia.

They posted an impressive 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-12) result for a flying start in Pool A. Donghyeok Im led his team with 13 points, while Jun Lee contributed 12 markers.

In Pool D, Kuwait Sporting Club were 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23) winners against Aspiring Volleyball Team from Hong Kong, while Police Sports Team battled past Atyrau VC of Kazakhstan 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 22- 25, 25-23).

Taichung Bank swept past Kam Air VC of Afghanistan 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-14) in Pool B, while in Pool C, Khaypil Sports Club needed to go the maximum to defeat Bayankhongor Crownd Geo VC of Mongolia 3-2 (28-30, 25-17, 20-25, 29-27, 17-15).

Tournament action continues today with the second day of play in the preliminary round.

The first games of the day are scheduled for 11.30am and the programme will continue until the night, with the concluding fixtures slated to begin no earlier than 7pm.