VOLLEYBALL – Bahrain are all set for battle amongst 12 of Asia’s best senior men’s volleyball national teams in the AVC Volleyball Men’s Continental Championship 2026.
The premier Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) tournament gets underway today at Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium in Fukuoka, Japan.
The field will not only be vying for the coveted Asian title, but they are also hoping to capture the sole direct quota place for the men’s volleyball tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, to be grabbed by the champions.
In addition to this, the competition’s top three will secure berths in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Cup 2027.
The Bahrainis are underdogs in Fukuoka, having yet to medal in this top-tier continental championship, which is in its 23rd edition.
They are competing for the 12th time and for the third staging in a row.
Bahrain first took part in the 1979 event which was hosted by the kingdom.
Their best-ever finish was eighth, twice – first in 1987 in Kuwait and then again in the previous tournament in 2023 in Iran.
The nationals arrived in Japan from Seoul, South Korea, where they conducted an overseas training camp over the past week and played a series of international friendly games against the home side, held as part of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bahrain and South Korea.
The kingdom’s spikers are not in action today but begin their championship campaign tomorrow in Pool A, where they are alongside defending champions and hosts Japan, Australia, and Oman.
The nationals play their Australian counterparts in their opening assignment tomorrow at 4am.
They then take on the Japanese on Sunday at 1.30pm, before completing their preliminary round campaign against Oman on Wednesday next week, also at 4am.
All times are Bahrain.
Pool B features Iran, China, India, and New Zealand; while Pool C is composed of Qatar, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand.
The Japanese are the top AVC squad in sixth on the current FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Ranking heading into this year’s AVC Volleyball Men’s Continental Championship.
Iran follow in 19th, while Qatar are 24th, South Korea 26th, and China 37th.
Bahrain are ranked seventh-best in the continent and 44th in the world.
Following a single round-robin, the top two teams from each of the three groups will march through to the quarter-finals, where they will be joined by the two best third-placed squads.
The elite eight is slated for next Thursday and Friday.
The semi-finals will then be held the following day, setting the stage for the gold and bronze medal games, which will bring the curtain down on the championship on September 13.
Bahrain are coached by Ivan Joksimovic from Montenegro, who has 13 players on the national team roster in Fukuoka.
They include 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 Abbas Sultan and skipper Ayman Harwana.
The nationals also recently flew the kingdom’s flag in the AVC Men’s Cup 2026 last June in Ahmedabad, India, where they narrowly missed out on the podium by finishing fourth amongst 11 countries.
Bahrain secured their berth in Fukuoka with their historic title triumph in the AVC Men’s Cup 2025 – achieved at home as their first-ever crown at any level of an AVC event.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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