VOLLEYBALL – THREE of Bahrain’s talented young spikers took home individual awards in helping the junior men’s volleyball national team clinch the silver medals in the 17th Arab Junior Volleyball Championship in Amman, Jordan.
Jassim Madan, Ali Talaq, and Ali Sultan were all honoured as being amongst the tournament’s top performers in the eight-team regional competition.
Madan was named Best Outside Hitter, Talaq was selected as one of two Best Opposite Spikers, and Sultan came away with the Best Libero trophy.
A total of eight players were honoured for their individual contributions to their respective national teams. Champions Egypt had four players, including skipper Omar Eissa who was named Best Scorer, Mohamed Eldakak who was selected as Best Setter, and the pair of Omar Shahin and Omar Ahmed who were the two Best Middle Blockers.
Libya’s Muezbillah Saleh Balnnour also came away with an award. He joined Talaq as the second Best Opposite Spiker.
The Bahrainis, who received a hero’s welcome yesterday upon their return to the kingdom, came away with their silver medals following a tough loss in five sets to their Egyptian counterparts on Monday night at Sports Palace Hall in Al Hussein Youth City. The nationals battled back from two sets down to force the tie-break but came up just short in the fifth and final set.
Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) vice-president Mohammed Al Thawadi and BVA secretary general Feras Al Helwachi, who is also the Arab Volleyball Association (AVA) secretary general, were in attendance for the contest.
Classified behind Egypt and Bahrain on the tournament’s final rankings from third through eighth, respectively, were Libya, Lebanon, hosts Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, and Iraq.
The tournament was organised and run by the AVA, which is chaired by BVA president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, in cooperation with the Jordan Volleyball Federation.
Upon reaching the kingdom yesterday from the Jordanian capital, they were received at Bahrain International Airport by officials from the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) and BVA, including BOC sports associations director Hesham Albeloshi, BVA vice-president Habib Mohammed, and BVA board members Abduljaleel Fateel, and Sadeq Al Zaimour.
The junior men’s volleyball national team, coached by Santiago Faidutti from Argentina, is a product of the Khalid bin Hamad Golden Generation initiative, established under the directives of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and BOC president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad A l Khalifa.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
Bahrain junior men’s national team members with officials at the airport yesterday
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