VOLLEYBALL – Defending champions Bahrain play a crucial match today in the AVC Men’s Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad, India.
The kingdom’s senior men’s volleyball national team face off with their counterparts from Kazakhstan in their penultimate fixture of preliminary Pool A.
The clash is expected to have major implications on the Bahrainis’ semi-final bid, with both teams currently separated by only a single point after three games in their division.
The contest is scheduled for a 3.30pm start, Bahrain time, and it will be held at Veer Savarkar Sports Complex.
The nationals head into the affair looking to bounce back from their three-set defeat against hosts India on Tuesday night.
It was their first loss of the tournament, having opened with back-to-back wins against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
Kazakhstan, on the other hand, also lost to the home side Indians but eked out a tough five-set win against Australia and also triumphed against Chinese Taipei.
In other pool A games today, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei square off at 12.30pm while India lock horns with Australia at 6.30pm.
Also today, Oman take on South Korea in the lone Pool B fixture.
All times are Bahrain.
Yesterday was an official rest day in the 11-nation Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) competition, and after today’s resumption of play, the preliminaries wrap up tomorrow when Bahrain go up against Australia at 6.30pm, also Bahrain time.
The nationals must finish amongst the top two in their division at the end of this single round-robin stage in order to march through to the final four, which is scheduled for Saturday.
The gold and bronze medal contests will then take place the following day.
Classification matches will also be held on both days to determine fifth through 10th places overall on the final standings.
The Pool B table is currently topped by Thailand, followed by Indonesia, Qatar, South Korea, and Oman.
Bahrain are the tournament’s reigning title-holders, having won last year’s edition which was hosted by the kingdom.
It was an historic result as it was the first-ever championship for the senior men’s squad in any Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) event.
That victory also earned them a spot in the upcoming AVC Volleyball Men’s Continental Championship 2026, which will be held in Fukuoka, Japan, from September 4 to 13.
Bahrain are competing in Ahmedabad with a 14-player line-up that is spearheaded by Hasan Alwarqaa, Mahmood Alafyah, Ali Ebrahim, Sayed Hashem Issa, Abdulla Mohammed Jaafar, and veteran skipper Ayman Harwana.
The rest of the roster includes Ali Habib, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Mohammed Abdulla, Mahmood Abdulhussain, Abbas Abdulla, Ali Yusuf, Hassan Haider, and Abdulla Ebrahim.
Bahrain are being coached by Ivan Joksimovic from Montenegro, who is only in his second tournament in charge of the senior men’s national team, whom he guided last month to the gold medals in the fourth GCC Games in Doha, Qatar.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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