VOLLEYBALL – BAHRAIN swept past Saudi Arabia 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-20) yesterday in their opening game of the ninth-to-16th classification bracket of the AVC Boys’ U18 Volleyball Championship 2026, currently being played in Haikou, China.
The kingdom’s youth men’s national team are competing for their highest possible ranking in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) tournament after falling out of contention for the title, having lost all three of their assignments in the preliminary round.
Their victory against their Saudi counterparts yesterday was their first of the competition, and it kept them in the running for ninth place overall amongst the 16 participating nations.
The Bahrainis next take on Indonesia today at 11.30am, Bahrain time, in another classification affair.
In other matches yesterday, Japan, Iran, Chinese Taipei, and defending champions China punched their tickets to the semi-finals.
Japan edged past India 3-2 (25-17, 14-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-10), Iran beat South Korea 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 11-25, 25-18), Chinese Taipei ousted Thailand 3-1 (25-18, 32-30, 22-25, 25-22), and China battled past Pakistan 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 16-14).
Japan and Chinese Taipei face off in one semi-final, scheduled for today, while Iran and China clash in the other.
All four semi-finalists have also booked their berths in the 2027 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship. The AVC tournament has also acted as a qualifier for the worlds, with only the top four securing their places.
In other classification games yesterday, Indonesia beat Kyrgyzstan 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-13), the Philippines defeated Australia 3-0 (25-20, 30-28, 25-20), and Hong Kong outplayed Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-20).
In Bahrain’s triumph against Saudi, outside hitter Mohamed Haram top scored in their win with 17 points, while skipper Nasralla Haram chipped in with 11 and opposite Mohammed Kadhem had nine.
Saeed Mukhtar top scored for Saudi with 12 markers and fellow- outside hitter Karrar Alabdulmohsin had eight.
Bahrain are competing in the under-18 continental event for the third time, with the tournament being held in its 16th edition.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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