Senior squad spikers set for Asian challenge

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

Bahrain’s 14-player senior men’s national volleyball team has been named for the fourth AVC Men Challenger.

The tournament is set to be held from Saturday to July 15 in Chinese-Taipei.

The Bahrainis have been training for the event over the past few weeks under newly signed head coach Ruben Adrian Wolochin from Argentina.

The final roster for the competition includes top local stars Mohammed Yaqoob, Mahmood Al Afia, Ali Habib, Nasser Anan, Mahmood Abdul hussain , Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Ali Ebrahim, Ebrahim Mohammed, Abbas Al Khabbaz, Mohammed Jassim, Mohammed Omar, Hani Ali, Ayman HAroona and Abbas Sultan.

That will be the first tournament for Wolochin in charge of the senior men’s national team.

He will hope to guide Bahrain to a repeat performance or an even better finish than their bronze-medal triumph in the 2022 AVC Cup for Men, which was held in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

The Bahrainis are among a record 17 national teams taking part in this year’s event.

Aside from a place on the podium, the contenders will also be vying for the lone berth up for grabs in the FIVB Men’s Challenger Cup—a pathway to the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League.

The nationals are in Pool F for the tournament’s preliminary round alongside Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Pool A features two teams in hosts Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan; Pool B comprises Saudi Arabia, Thailand and South Korea; while Uzbekistan, India and Hong Kong are in Pool C. Pool D consists of Mongolia, the Philippines and Macau, with Australia, Pakistan and Vietnam in Pool E.

Bahrain open their campaign on Sunday against Sri Lanka and then play Indonesia on Monday. The top two in their pool will advance to the final 12.

Aside from the AVC Men Challenger, Bahrain’s senior men will also take part in the 22nd Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship from August 18 to 26 in Tehran.