VOLLEYBALL – BAHRAIN made a sensational winning start last night to the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup 2025.
The kingdom’s senior men’s volleyball national team battled past their counterparts from Thailand 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 25-22) in their opening match in Pool A of the tournament’s preliminary round.
The game was played in front of a large crowd of fans at Isa bin Rashid Arena, located at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa was in attendance. He later joined the Bahrainis on the court along with other officials following their contest to congratulate the players and staff.
The AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup 2025 is taking place 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. It is being held for the second straight year in Bahrain and for the first time under its new name.
Also taking wins yesterday were Pakistan and South Korea. Both sides were medallists from the previous edition of the tournament last year. The Pakistanis were winners in four sets over the Philippines in Pool C, while the South Koreans enjoyed a three-set victory over New Zealand in Pool D.
Tournament action continues today with another three games on schedule, starting from 2pm. Entrance throughout the competition is free of charge.
In Bahrain’s win last night, the hosts were the early aggressors but their rivals stepped it up in the second set as the two teams split the first two frames.
In the third, the nationals were led by the strong showing of opposite spiker Ali Ebrahim and outside hitter Mohammed Yaqoob, who finished as their leading scorers in the contest with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
They did well to close the match out in the fourth set, much to the delight of the home supporters.
“It’s always difficult to start a competition at home,” said Bahrain’s French head coach and former Olympian Arnaud Josserand. “You don’t know exactly how you’re going to play, so we’re really happy and it’s a good start for us.”
Bahrain captain and outside hitter Naser Anan added nine points, while middle blocker Mohammed Abdulla had seven.
Outside hitter Thungkham Chaiwat had 10 points for the Thais, while Jenthaisong Supakorn scored 10 and middle blocker Nilsawai Kissida had nine.
The Bahrainis have a rest day today and are back in action tomorrow against Indonesia. The Thais and Indonesians clash tonight at 7pm.
Pakistan claimed a hard-earned 3-1 (25-18, 25-12, 18-25, 25-22) victory over the Philippines in Pool C yesterday.
The Pakistanis were rolling at the start and took the early two-set advantage. But the Filipinos fought back and managed to stay in the game. They received a boost in the third set by the inspired play of opposite spiker Leo Ordiales.
They then rode their momentum into the fourth and took a commanding 6-1 advantage. Pakistan showed their poise, however, and gradually fought back, scoring five unanswered points to turn a 3-7 deficit to an 8-7 edge. They did enough the rest of the way to secure their triumphant start.
Three players scored 14 points apiece in Pakistan’s balanced attack. They included opposite spiker Murad Khan, outside hitter Afaq Khan, and middle blocker Musawer Khan. Opposite spiker and skipper Murad Jehan chipped in with nine points.
Ordiales was the match’s top scorer with 22 points, which included five on blocks. Fellow-opposite Steven Charles Rotter and outside hitter Michaelo Buddin contributed 10 each in the losing effort.
“It was a good game,” said Afaq Khan. “In the first two sets, we played very well, but after that they played well and recovered. They were very good in service in the third set and we made some mistakes, so we lost it. But in the fourth set, we came back to playing our game, and we were able to get the win.”
Meanwhile, South Korea shrugged off a slow start to battle past New Zealand 3-0 (28-26, 25-13, 25-22) in Pool D.
The Kiwis were in control for nearly the entire first set until the very end. After trailing 25-26 and their opponents playing for set point, the South Koreans strung together the next three rallies to go in front.
They never looked back from there, going on to secure the match victory in a sweep.
Opposite spiker Donghyeok Im spearheaded his team with 18 points in the contest – 15 of which came in attack. Outside hitters Subong Heo and Jihan Kim added seven and six markers, respectively.
Opposite spiker Seth Grant was New Zealand’s leading scorer with 12 points, while outside hitter Mana Placid contributed 10 in the loss.
“It was quite a tough start today because we didn’t have much information about New Zealand,” South Korea’s Brazilian head coach Issanaye Ramires, who was formerly in charge of Bahrain, told the GDN. “They played with hard passion and made it difficult for us. But after it all, we were back to playing our system with our intensity, and we won the match.
“Here, every day is a final – we won our first final, and now we need to go with our next game, focus on them, recover our boys, and be stronger in the next match.”
This year’s AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup has been organised by the Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA), in cooperation with the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and Volleyball World.
Teams are first competing 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.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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