ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY GAMES – Bahrain secured an all-important victory in three sets against Chad yesterday in the men’s volleyball tournament of the sixth Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom’s senior men’s volleyball national team were in top form in the contest, controlling the proceedings early and staving off a late rally from their opponents to come away with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 27-25) final score.
Ali Ebrahim was a force for the kingdom’s representatives, finishing with 17 points, including 15 in attack alone.
Sayed Hashem Isa chipped in with 12 markers, while Mahmoud Abdulwahed added 10 in the win.
Ngaryara Mountangue was the leading scorer for Chad in their loss with 10 points.
With the result, Bahrain posted their second win in four matches and ensured their place in the bronze medal game, set to be played tomorrow.
This was confirmed last night by the Bahrain Olympic Committee.
The Bahrainis will take on their counterparts from Qatar for third place overall.
The two teams will also be facing off this afternoon at 4pm, Bahrain time, in a no-bearing affair that will complete their schedule in the preliminary round.
The top two teams on the standings at the end of this stage will move on to square off for the gold medals tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Bahrain had mixed results in the other sports in action yesterday.
Sayed Hashem Ahmed qualified for the gold medal match in the Tekken 8 competition in esports.
Ahmed will face off with Sultan Taheri from the UAE on the title-decider, scheduled for 4pm, Bahrain time, this afternoon.
Ahmed earned his spot in the final after beating Raef Alturkistani 2-1 in the semis, while he earlier overcame Emre Ozturk of Türkiye, also 2-1, in the quarter-finals.
In table tennis, Bahrain’s Rashed Rashed and Mohamed Saleh both made it through to the men’s singles round of 16.
Rashed defeated Muhammad Taimur Khan from Pakistan 4-1 (11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9) in their last 32 clash.
Saleh followed suit, beating Mohutasin Ahmed Ridoy from Bangladesh 4-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9) to march through.
In the women’s singles, Bahrain’s Dana Alkhayyat lost in her round-of-32 contest against Shima Safaei 0-4 (3-11, 3-11, 2-11, 7-11), while Kenda Mohamed suffered a tough 2-4 (7-11, 6-11, 19-17, 11-7, 6-11, 5-11) defeat to Khoy Khoy Sai Marma from Bangladesh in the same stage.
In Muay Thai, Bahraini Abdulla Ali lost to Wassof Bin Rumijam from Malaysia 9-10 in the men’s 55-60kg round of 16.
In karate, Bahrain’s Salem Aljuma lost 0-5 to Melso Gashi from Albania in the men’s under-84kg round of 16, Fatema Falamarzi lost 0-7 to Pakistan’s Rabia Farooq in the women’s under-50kg round of 16, and Fatema Shanbaih lost 0-8 to Laiba Zia, also from Pakistan, in the women’s under-55kg round of 16.
In today’s events at the Islamic Solidarity Games, Paris 2024 bronze-medallist Gor Minasyan will be going for gold in the men’s over-110kg category in weightlifting.
He is set to be one of seven competitors in the event, scheduled for a 6pm start.
The others are Mohammad Zeitoun from Lebanon, Fazal Karim Turkmen from Afghanistan, Muhammad Ripqy Ramadhan from Indonesia, Ali Rubaiawi from Iraq, Ali Shukurlu from Azerbaijan, and Sharofiddin Amriddinov from Uzbekistan.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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