VOLLEYBALL – Bahrain will play for seventh place overall in the final ranking of the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Men, currently being hosted by the kingdom.
The Bahrainis take on Australia for their final classification after falling to Vietnam 1-3 (22-25, 26-24, 21-25, 21-25) last night at Isa bin Rashid Arena at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
The Vietnamese will battle China for fifth place after the Chinese posted a come-from-behind 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 17-15) victory against the Aussies.
Both ranking games are scheduled for today, with Bahrain and Australia squaring off at 11.30am, to be followed by Vietnam and China clashing at 2pm.
Meanwhile, the stage is set for the tournament’s semi-finals today. Qatar and Kazakhstan will lock horns in the first contest at 4.30pm, and then South Korea will take on Pakistan at 7pm. The winners will move on to tomorrow’s gold medal match at 7pm, prior to which the losers will play for the bronze medal at 4pm.
After fighting back in the second set to level the match, Bahrain could not build on their momentum and Vietnam took advantage, deflating the home side’s spirits and closing out the win.
“It wasn’t a good game for our players, and we are disappointed to lose,” Bahrain libero Ayman Harwana told the GDN. “We wish to play better tomorrow in our final game; we need this for our rankings.”
Wing spiker Nguyen Ngoc Thuan was Vietnam’s top scorer with 19 points, while opposite Pham Van Hiep added 17. Opposite Ali Ebrahim had 15 for Bahrain, while outside hitter Mohammed Yaqoob scored 14.
China fell behind by a set twice in their match with Australia but forced the decisive tie-breaker. There, the Aussies took control early and appeared headed towards the victory, but an error on serve followed by an ace from Chinese outside hitter Yu Yuantai brought the set back on level terms. The scores remained tied until 15-all, and then China came away with the game-clinching points – first an attack by outside hitter Jingyin Zhang and then a spike by Australia’s Ethan Garrett that went out of bounds.
“We stuck together in the end,” said Zhang, who top-scored for his team with 27 points. “We always want to win, and we want to continue to progress.”
Skipper Chuan Jian chipped in with 15 points for the Chinese, while opposite Matthew Aubrey and wing spiker Garrett had 22 points apiece for Australia in the loss.
Also yesterday, Thailand secured ninth place overall on the final rankings after defeating the Philippines 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20). Indonesia, on the other hand, claimed 11th place after beating Chinese Taipei 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 27-25).
“We are very happy to win this game, and even if our tournament result didn’t turn out as we expected, we did our best for the competition,” said Thailand middle blocker Thanathat Thaweerat.
Opposite spiker Amornthep Khonhan had a game-high 30 points for the Thais, while outside hitter Supakorn Jenthaisong added 15 in their win. Philippine captain Marck Espejo had 16 to lead his side, while wing spiker Jade Alex Disquitado contributed 14 points.
Indonesia’s triumph against Chinese Taipei was a tightly contested affair between the two youngest teams in this year’s competition.
Outside hitter Prasasti Yohanes Dedi finished with 19 points to lead the winners, while opposite spiker Fauzan Rama Fazza added 13. Outside hitter Jheng Wei-Jhih was the top performer for Chinese Taipei, while middle blocker Pi Tsung-Yuan added 12 markers.
In fielding their youthful squads in the kingdom, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei both geared up for the 22nd Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship, which will be hosted by the Indonesians in Surabaya from July 23 to 30.
“This Asian challenge has all good players,” said Indonesia head coach Joni Sugiyatno. “My team gained more confidence from playing these matches.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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