Bahrain’s national volleyball team were given a warm welcome yesterday on their return from winning second place at the 21st Arab Men’s Volleyball Championship in Cairo recently.
Supreme Council for Youth and Sports assistant secretary general and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) secretary general Abdulrahman Askar welcomed the team at the committee premises in Seef.
Askar also conveyed the congratulations of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman, and BOC president, and his best wishes for them in future challenges.
The nationals clinched the competition’s silver medal after a 1-3 (23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-15) defeat to highly-favoured and hosts Egypt in a closely-contested final.
Coached by veteran Bahraini tactician Yousef Khalifa, Bahrain’s squad was led by skipper Nasser Anan, and comprised of Ali Al Sairafi, Mohammed Anan, Yousif Khalid, Mohammed Yaqoob, Abbas Al Khabbaz, Mahmood Al Afya, Ayman Haroona, Mohammed Jassim, Hussain Al Haiki, Hassan Al Haddad and Hussain Sultan.
Askar expressed pride for the overall outcome of the team in the region’s most prestigious volleyball championship, where they put on a great performance to win all their league format matches before going down to Egypt in the title decider.
He also noted the significant support the team has been receiving from the Bahrain Volleyball Association, headed by president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, who provided ideal conditions for the players to compete on a top level.