VOLLEYBALL – Bahrain’s senior men’s volleyball national team arrived yesterday in Seoul, South Korea to conduct an overseas training camp as part of their final preparations for the AVC Volleyball Men’s Continental Championship 2026.
The premier Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) tournament is scheduled for September 4 to 13, with Bahrain one of 12 nations set to compete.
During their stay in South Korea, the Bahrainis will play an international friendly match against the hosts as part of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The tune-up was confirmed in a meeting last month between South Korean Ambassador to Bahrain Choi Byung-sun and Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.
The Bahrain squad that travelled to East Asia features 13 players, including middle blockers Mohammed Abdulla, Hassan Haider, and Ali Yusuf; opposite spikers Ali Ebrahim and Abdulla Mohammed Jaafar; outside hitters Sayed Hashem Issa, Mahmood Abdulhussain, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, and Ahmed Mohammed Saleh; setters Mahmood Alafyah and Ali Habib; and liberos Ayman Harwana and Abbas Sultan.
The Bahrainis are coached by Ivan Joksimovic from Montenegro, along with his assistants Meshaal Turki and Mustafa Hasan, while the kingdom’s delegation is headed by Bahrain Volleyball Association board member Sayed Ali Haider.
Amongst the key players missing on Bahrain’s roster for their upcoming campaign are middle blocker Hasan Alwarqaa and outside hitter Mohammed Yaqoob.
Alwarqaa underwent surgery this week and is recovering in hospital, while Yaqoob is also in the process of getting back to full, 100 per cent fitness after suffering an injury that has kept him out of action for a long period.
Bahrain’s players who will be competing in Fukuoka recently also flew the kingdom’s flag in the AVC Men’s Cup 2026 held last June in Ahmedabad, India, where they narrowly missed out on the podium by finishing fourth amongst 11 countries.
The nationals are in Pool A for the preliminary round of this year’s AVC Volleyball Men’s Continental Championship.
They are 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.
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 is 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.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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