VOLLEYBALL – BAHRAIN’S senior men’s volleyball team have returned from their overseas training camp in Cairo, Egypt, ahead of their upcoming participation in the sixth AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup 2025.
The tournament is scheduled to get underway on Tuesday next week and continue until June 24.
The Bahrainis are one of 12 top continental squads who will be vying for top honours in the event, which is being organised by the Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) in cooperation with the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and Volleyball World.
It is to be held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The nationals held their camp under the supervision of recently signed French head coach Arnaud Josserand. The Bahrainis played two friendlies during that period against their Egyptian counterparts, against whom they split the two games.
Following their return to the kingdom, Bahrain are set to resume their preparations with training from today.
Meanwhile, other participating national teams continued to reach the island yesterday as the days continued to count down to Tuesday’s start of play. The latest squad to arrive in the kingdom were New Zealand, who were received upon touching down at Bahrain International Airport by Bahrain Volleyball Association officials.
Elsewhere, preparations continue to step up in all aspects of organisation. Venues committee director Ali Maki Alshaikh confirmed the full readiness to host the visiting delegations, particularly at the main tournament venue at Isa bin Rashid Arena, located at Isa Sports City in Riffa. He noted that the venues committee has developed a thorough plan, approved by the BVA, to ensure the smooth running of the competition at the venue, based on new requirements set by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
Alshaikh added that four volleyball courts at local clubs have been allocated for national teams to train at, including at Al Ahli, Al Shabab, A’ali and Al Nasser. All locations have been fully equipped with all the necessary supplies including balls, nets, drinking water, and other equipment.
Bahrain are in Pool A for the tournament’s opening round along with Thailand and Indonesia. Pool B features defending champions Qatar, Australia, and Kazakhstan; Pool C is composed of last year’s silver-medallists Pakistan, Chinese Taipei, and the Philippines; and Pool D includes the 2024 bronze-medallists South Korea, Vietnam, and New Zealand.
Four fixtures are scheduled for each day of play, starting from 11.30am and the last beginning no earlier than 7pm. Entrance for all matches is free.
Teams will first compete in round-robin pool play, with the top two from each pool advancing to the quarter-finals. The remaining sides will compete in classification matches for ninth to 12th place.
The winners of the competition will earn a berth in the 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship.
The host Bahrainis finished seventh overall in last year’s competition, when Qatar secured the gold medals after sweeping past their Pakistani counterparts in three sets in the final.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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