VOLLEYBALL – Bahrain’s Al Ahli and Dar Kulaib will be flying the kingdom’s flag in the fourth edition of the Wava Men’s Clubs Volleyball Championship.
The West Asia Volleyball Association (Wava) competition is scheduled to take place from February 2 to 14 in Kuwait City, with the participation of 11 top volleyball teams from across the region.
Ahli are returning to the tournament after claiming the bronze medals in last year’s event, which was hosted by the kingdom.
They will be playing in Group B in this year’s preliminary round alongside Club Jeunesse Sportif (CJS) Batroun from Lebanon, Al Wakrah SC from Qatar, and hosts Kuwait SC from Kuwait.
Group A features defending champions Al Rayyan from Qatar, Majees SC from Oman, and South Gas Sports Club from Iraq; while Group C is composed of Dar Kulaib, Ittihad Club from Saudi Arabia, Al Seeb from Oman, and Burgan SC from Kuwait.
Ahli open their title bid against Wakrah on February 4, and then they take on CJS Batroun two days later.
They then complete their Group B schedule against Kuwait SC on February 8.
Dar Kulaib, meanwhile, begin their campaign against Seeb on February 5 and then take on Burgan on February 7.
They then wrap up their preliminary round campaign the very next day against Ittihad.
Following a single round-robin, the top two teams from each of the three pools move on to the knockout quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed teams.
The elite eight will be held on February 10.
The semis are then set for February 12, which will then set the stage for the gold and bronze medal contests on the championship’s concluding day on February 14.
Classification matches to determine the rest of the final rankings will also be held over the concluding week on February 11 and 13.
Ahli, coached by Renato Castro from Brazil, boast a formidable line-up that includes a number of current and former Bahrain’s senior men’s national team players, including Ali Ebrahim, Mohammed Anan, Sayed Mohammed Alabbar, Mahmood Abdulhussain, Hani Alawi, Hasan Haider, Ayman Harwana, Hussain Mansoor, and Hussain Sultan, among others.
Dar Kulaib, who are coached by Ivan Joksimovic from Montenegro, also feature a strong line-up with Hasan Alwarqaa, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Abbas Abdulla, Ali Habib, and Hassan Alaiwi leading their charge, to name a few.
Both Ahli and Dar Kulaib have vast experience competing in Wava’s premier senior men’s tournament. Next month’s event will mark the third straight year in which Ahli are competing.
In 2024 in Sohar, Oman, Ahli narrowly missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish.
In the inaugural event in 2023 in Amman, Jordan, Dar Kulaib were the Bahraini representatives, and they too came up one spot shy of the podium in finishing fourth.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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