BEACH VOLLEYBALL – BAHRAIN’S Hassan Nasser and Jaafar Aljishi bagged the silver medals in the 31st Men’s and 21st Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship, held in Martil, Morocco.
Nasser and Aljishi had to settle for the runner-up spot after losing in the men’s gold medal game to the Moroccan pair of Soufiane El Gharouti and Mehdi Walid 1-2 (22-20, 16-21, 10-15) in a tightly contested three-setter.
The two tandems were joined on the men’s podium by another hometown duo in Zouheir Elgraoui and Oussama El Azhari, who won the game for third place after opponents George Bakhit and Moaz Abdelkarim from Egypt forfeited.
The top three were presented their respective medals in the awards ceremony attended by Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) president and Arab Volleyball Association (AVA) chief Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.
During the awarding, Shaikh Ali received a token of appreciation from African Volleyball Confederation president Bouchra Hajij of Morocco. Officials from the Royal Moroccan Volleyball Federation were also on hand.
Earlier in the tournament, Nasser and Aljishi claimed their place in the men’s final after beating Elgraoui and El Azhari 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) in the last four.
In the quarter-finals, Nasser and Aljishi needed to battle back from a set down and go the maximum to oust Tunisians Adem Elmeddeb and Mohmaed Aziz Lenglize 2-1 (11-21, 21-16, 15-12).
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Mohamed Mohsen and Ali Yaqoob also took part in the tournament. They finished 10th overall after coming up short in their bid to make it out of pool play.
A total of 11 teams competed in the men’s championship, with other pairings representing Libya and Iraq.
On the distaff, Bahrain’s Nawraa Shubbar and Fatima Albuzaid competed in the women’s event. They battled hard but lost all five of their matches in the six-team, league-type competition.
Marwa Abdelhady and Doaa Elghobashy from Egypt were the gold-medallists, while the Moroccan tandems of Imane Yakki and Nora Nezha Jihane Darrhar, and Dina Mellal and Alexandra Erhart, came away with silver and bronze, respectively.
The women’s tournament also featured a duo from Tunisia.
The kingdom’s beach volleyball squads were coached in the championship by veteran Bahraini tactician Mohammed Al Shaikh. Also attending the meet was BVA secretary general Feras Al Helwachi, who is also the AVA secretary general.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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