Bahrain’s spikers advance despite loss

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain bowed to Iran 1-3 (16-25, 19-25, 25-22, 20- 25) yesterday but still made it through to the knockout stage of the men’s volleyball competition at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Ali Ebrahim scored 12 points to pace the senior men’s national team in the loss, while skipper Naser Anan added nine points and both Mohammed Jassim and Sayed Hashem Issa each scored eight points.

Amin Esmaeilnezhad paced the Iranians with 20 points, while Seyed mohammad Mousavieraghi and Amirhossein Esfandiar chipped in with 12 apiece. The defeat followed Bahrain’s four-set victory over Nepal on Tuesday, which was enough to earn them a place in the round of 12.

There, they will take on fellow-Gulf side Qatar today at 5.30am, Bahrain time, for a place in the quarter-finals. Other match-ups in the top 12 include Iran taking on Thailand and China facing Indonesia.

The winners of these two games get a bye in the quarter-finals and advance directly to the final four, as per the competition’s unique format. The remaining fixtures with quarters berths up for grabs see Kazakhstan take on Japan, India face Chinese-Taipei, and South Korea battle Pakistan. Should Bahrain win today, they will move on to face the victor from the Korea-Pakistan clash in the round of eight on Sunday.

The nationals, coached by Ruben Adrian Wolochin from Argentina, have a 12-player squad in Hangzhou. Aside from Ebrahim, Anan, Jassim and Issa, the rest of the team includes Mohammed Yaqoob, Abbas Al Khabbaz, Mahmood Alafyah, Ayman Haroona, Abbas Sultan, Ali Habib, Hussain Mahdi and Hussain Ehsan.