BEACH VOLLEYBALL – BAHRAIN’S pairings in the 31st Men’s Arab Beach Volleyball Championship 2026 both stepped onto the podium last night to come away with a sensational medal double, although they narrowly missed out on the coveted gold.
The Bahrain B tandem of Khaled Abdulla and Ali Hussain captured the silver medals after losing in the final of the nine-team tournament, which came to a close in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.
Meanwhile, the Bahrain A duo of Hasan Nasser and Jaafar Aljishi took home the bronze medals after winning their concluding classification contest yesterday.
Following both medal matches, the top three in the tournament were presented their respective awards by officials from the Arab Volleyball Association and the UAE Volleyball Association.
Bahrain’s pairs were both guided in the competition by veteran Bahraini tactician Mohammed Alshaikh.
Abdulla and Hussain lost 0-2 (14-21, 16-21) in the gold medal game against the Lebanon A tandem of Jad Abi Karam and Hadi El Chabib, who secured the crown.
The result was the only setback of the entire championship for Abdulla and Hussain, who advanced to the final after winning their clash in the last four against the Lebanese B pair of Joe El Azzi and Salba Chafic.
Meanwhile, Nasser and Aljishi bagged their bronze medals after beating El Azzi and Chafic 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) in the match for third place.
They also had a fine run in the tournament and had their lone loss in the semi-finals, where they bowed to Abi Karam and El Chabib 0-2 (19-21, 27-29) in a hotly contested affair that almost went into a third set.
The two semis games were also held yesterday, setting the stage for the podium-deciding clashes.
The nine pairings that took part in the men’s competition were flying the flags of five nations, including Iraq, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, and hosts UAE. A pairing from Yemen were also scheduled to compete, but withdrew prior to the start of action.
With their medals in the UAE capital, Bahrain’s beach volleyball teams further cemented their status as being amongst the best in the region.
They excelled in their second successive tournament this month, having medalled in the first West Asia Volleyball Association (Wava) Beach Volleyball Tour 2026, held in Doha, Qatar. There, Nasser and Aljishi were crowned Wava men’s champions, while Abdulla and Hussain secured the bronze medals.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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