Volleyball squad prepare for Asian test

TDT | Manama

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Bahrain’s senior men’s volleyball team arrived in South Korea yesterday for a training camp as preparations intensify for next month’s Asian Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship in Japan.

The camp will be the final stage of their build-up before heading to Fukuoka, where the tournament will take place from September 4 to 13.

The Kingdom secured their place by winning the inaugural AVC Men’s Nations Cup at home last year, earning an automatic berth in the continental championship.

They have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Japan, Australia and China.

Group B features Iran, India, Oman and New Zealand, while Qatar, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Thailand make up Group C.

Montenegrin head coach Ivan Joksimovic will use the Korea camp to put the finishing touches on his preparations.

Hasan Alwarqaa, Ali Ebrahim, Mahmood Alafyah, Sayed Hashem Issa, Abdulla Mohammed Jaafar and Mahmoud Abdulwahed are among the core players expected to feature.

The squad head into the tournament after an encouraging year, having claimed gold at the fourth GCC Games in Doha in May. The triumph handed Joksimovic a title in his first competition in charge.

They followed that success with a run to the semi-finals of the AVC Men’s Cup in Ahmedabad, where they entered as defending champions.

Their title defence ended with a 3-1 defeat to eventual champions Indonesia, before hosts India prevailed by the same scoreline in the third-place play-off to leave Bahrain fourth overall.

Attention now turns to Japan, with the Korea camp providing a final opportunity to sharpen preparations ahead of the continental challenge.