Bahrain eighth in Asian volleyball

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain secured a final ranking of eighth overall yesterday amongst the 17 participating nations in the 22nd Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, which came to a close in Urmia, Iran.

The nationals had to settle for their classification following a tough 1-3 (22- 25, 25-21, 18-25, 18-25) loss to Pakistan in their tournament-ending fixture. The Bahrainis matched their best-ever finish in the competition with eighth place.

They had previously clinched that ranking in the championship’s 1987 edition held in Kuwait, which also featured 17 teams.

The nationals were the second-best Arab side to end the tournament. Qatar were top, claiming the bronze medals following their 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25- 18) sweep of China, while Iraq were ranked 12th.

In Bahrain’s game yesterday, they conceded the first set but battled back to level the match.

They could not keep up their momentum, however, and faltered in the final two sets.

The loss was their third in four games in the tournament. They had also suffered defeats to Chinese Taipei in the preliminary round and to the Japanese in the round of 12.

They claimed their only victory in an epic comeback against Thailand in a match decided in five sets, which set up their showdown with the Pakistanis.

Outside hitter Mohammed Yaqoob was Bahrain’s top scorer in the loss with 15 points, mostly in attack. Opposite spiker Mohammed Anan added 12, while skipper Nasser Anan chipped in with nine and middle blocker Abbas Al Khabbaz had eight.

Middle blocker Hani Allawi contributed seven points, which included five blocks, while setter Mahmood Al Afia and opposite Ali Ebrahim each had two. Middle blocker Mohammed Jassim and outside hitter Sayed Hashem Issa rounded off the Bahraini scorers with a point apiece.

Opposite Murad Khan had 19 points, including 15 in attack, to pace the Pakistanis, who are guided by Bahrain’s former head coach Issanaye Ramires Ferraz from Brazil.

Outside hitters Usman Faryad Ali and Murad Jehan contributed 17 points apiece in their win. Bahrain, coached by Ruben Adrian Wolochin from Argentina, had a 14-player roster in Urmia. The rest of their squad included Ayman Haroona, Ali Habib, Mahmood Abdulhussain, Mahmoud Abdulwahed and Hussain Sultan.

Bahrain have never won a medal in the Asian men’s championship.

This year’s tournament marked their 11th appearance. Japan were crowned tournament champions last night after putting in a near-flawless performance in a stunning 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18) hammering of hosts Iran in the gold medal game.