VOLLEYBALL – Bahrain were drawn yesterday in a tough group for the preliminary round of the AVC Volleyball Men’s Continental Championship 2026, to be played next month in Fukuoka, Japan.
The kingdom’s senior men’s squad are one of 12 national teams in the premier Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) men’s tournament, scheduled for September 4 to 13.
The Bahrainis have been slotted into Pool A alongside defending champions and hosts Japan, Australia, and Oman.
Pool B features Iran, China, India, and New Zealand; while Pool C is composed of Qatar, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand.
The draw was conducted yesterday by the AVC in a ceremony in Fukuoka, with AVC president Ramon Suzara and Japan Volleyball Association president Shunichi Kawai in attendance.
Bahrain secured their spot in the tournament after winning the title in the AVC Men’s Cup 2025 – making history at home with their first-ever crown at any level of an AVC event.
This year’s championship in Fukuoka will be the 23rd staging of the competition, and it features a unique format.
Following a single round-robin, to be held from September 4 to 9, the top two teams from each pool will march through to the quarter-finals, where they will be joined by the two best third-placed squads. The elite eight is then slated for September 10 and 11.
That will set the stage for the semi-finals on September 12, after which the gold and bronze medal contests will bring the curtains down on the championship on September 13.
The title winners in Fukuoka will earn a direct quota place for the men’s volleyball tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, while the top three finishers will secure berths in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Cup 2027.
Bahrain are making their 12th appearance in the Asian men’s championship.
The senior men’s national team made their debut in 1979 when the event was hosted by the kingdom.
They most recently have played in its last two editions in 2021 and 2023, when they finished 10th from 16 teams in the 2021 tournament, also played in Japan in Chiba and Funabashi, before claiming eighth place amongst 17 nations in 2023, held in Urmia, Iran.
The Bahrainis are coached by Ivan Joksimovic from Montenegro, under whom they have had some recent good form.
They last came together for the AVC Men’s Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad, India last June, when they narrowly missed out on the podium by finishing fourth amongst 11 countries.
Joksimovic also helped guide the nationals to the gold medals at the fourth GCC Games in Doha, Qatar in May of this year – his first tournament in charge of Bahrain.
He took over for the departed Frenchman Arnaud Josserand, who guided the Bahrainis to their historic title win in last year’s AVC Men’s Cup.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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