VOLLEYBALL – BAHRAIN’S Dar Kulaib narrowly missed out on the gold medals last night in the fourth Wava Men’s Clubs Volleyball Championship, which came to a close in Kuwait City.
Dar Kulaib were made to settle for silver in the West Asia Volleyball Association (Wava) tournament after bowing to Qatar’s Al Rayyan, who continued their incredible dominance of the event by capturing their fourth successive title – extending their perfect run in the competition.
The kingdom’s representatives fell to a 0-2 hole in the final and, despite fighting back in the third set to extend the contest, were outplayed by Rayyan, who triumphed with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 13-25, 25-18) score line.
Also yesterday in the Kuwaiti capital, Dar Kulaib’s fellow-Bahraini outfit Al Ahli came up short in their bid to secure the tournament’s bronze medals. They bowed to hosts Kuwait Sports Club 0-3 (23-25, 16-25, 21-25) in their classification game for third.
With last night’s results, a Bahraini club has now stepped onto the Wava men’s clubs podium for the second time in its history. It was also the first silver medal for Bahrain, as Dar Kulaib’s runner-up finish added to the bronze medal won by Ahli in last year’s edition of the competition, which was hosted by the kingdom.
Meanwhile, along with their silver medals, three Dar Kulaib players came away with individual awards for their outstanding performances in the championship. They included Hasan Alwarqaa, Ali Habib, and Kenyan professional Enock Mogeni. They were each presented with trophies during the evening’s closing and awarding ceremony.
In attendance at last night’s final was Arab Volleyball Association president and Bahrain Volleyball Association chief Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa. He was among the officials who handed over the gold medals to Rayyan’s team members.
In Dar Kulaib’s loss last night, Rayyan were the early aggressors but the Bahrainis came alive and back-to-back spikes from Alwarqaa and Pakistani import Murad Jehan gave them a stunning 21-19 lead. But the Qataris were not to be denied, and a double block on a Jehan attack – which was challenged unsuccessfully for a net touch – gave Rayyan back the advantage, which they held on to go one set up.
In the second frame, the Bahrainis were determined to level the contest and got to within 17-19 following a Mogeni smash. But Rayyan answered yet again, and they stayed in front en route to a clinching spike delivered by Brazilian Alisson Melo to take the commanding lead.
Dar Kulaib didn’t fold despite the deficit and continued to battle. They were first to double digits in set three following a Melo service error, and a double block by Habib and Hassan Abbas gave them a commanding 18-9 cushion. They never wavered from there and a Mahmoud Abdulwahed attack earned them set point, making it 1-2 and keeping their title hopes alive.
Any momentum they gained, however, was lost at the beginning of the fourth set as Rayyan took a 6-1 lead. And although Dar Kulaib fought back to 10-12, Rayyan stepped it up with an 8-3 run that pushed them forward 20-13 and inched them closer to the crown. They then did enough to maintain the comfortable gap and an Ali Mohammed error on serve gifted the Qataris championship point.
Rayyan were spearheaded in last night’s contest by their top Qatar senior men’s national team players including Papemaguette Diagne, Milos Stevanovic, Belal Abunabot, Mubarak Dahi Hammad, and Naji Mahmoud. They also had plenty of support from their international stars, led by Melo.
Dar Kulaib, meanwhile, relied on the strong play of Mogeni, Jehan, Alwarqaa, Habib, and Abdulwahed. They were guided by head coach Ivan Joksimovic from Montenegro.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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