VOLLEYBALL – HOSTS Bahrain put in a scintillating performance last night in a clean sweep of Indonesia to secure first place in their preliminary round group of the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup 2025.
The kingdom’s senior men’s volleyball national team were firing on all cylinders, outclassing their opponents 3-0 (25-13, 27-25, 25-22) at Isa Bin Rashid Arena, located at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) vice-president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa attended the match. They later joined the nationals on the court and spoke with the players and staff.
Bahrain’s star trio of opposite spiker Ali Ebrahim and outside hitters Mohammed Yaqoob and skipper Naser Anan spearheaded their attack against the Indonesians.
They now march through to the quarter-finals as winners of Pool A and will next take on Pool C runners-up Chinese Taipei tomorrow. Indonesia, on the other hand, face Pool C winners Pakistan.
“I’m really happy with this win,” Bahrain head coach Arnaud Josserand told the GDN last night. “It was a really serious game – we knew that Indonesia were playing really well, but they had a five-setter yesterday, so maybe they were a little bit tired, so we said we needed to start really strong, and we did.
“The first set was a little too comfortable for us and there was a little decrease in concentration in the second, so we had a tough ending and it was close.
“But we started back again in the third and the team was serious enough to win 3-0 and not to lose energy, so I’m really proud of the work of the boys.”
Bahrain got off to a blistering start and took a 20-9 lead in set one before a Mohammed Abdulla spike gave them the opening frame.
The nationals maintained their momentum in the second but Indonesia battled back, tying it at 9-apiece. Things remained close until the end and the Bahrainis saved one set point with Yaqoob extending the proceedings at 25-all. Ebrahim then supplied the clincher, giving the home team the 2-0 advantage.
Bahrain powered to the finish line in the third set, giving their opponents little chance to stretch the contest.
Ebrahim and Yaqoob finished as joint-top scorers with 14 points each, while Anan added 13, including four block points. Abdulla scored eight, while fellow-middle blocker Hassan Warqaa added four points.
Middle blocker Tedi Oka Syahputra had nine points to pace Indonesia in the loss. Outside hitters Fahri Septian Putratama and Boy Arnez Arabi had eight and seven, respectively.
The other quarter-final games tomorrow will see Pool B winners Qatar battle Pool D runners-up Vietnam, while Pool D winners South Korea will face Pool B runners-up Australia.
This year’s AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup has been organised by the BVA, in cooperation with the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and Volleyball World.
It is being held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and BOC president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The winners of the competition will earn a berth in the 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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