Bahrain face champions Japan after opening loss

TDT | Manama

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Bahrain face defending champions Japan today as they look to bounce back from an opening defeat at the AVC Volleyball Men's Continental Championship 2026 in Fukuoka.

The kingdom's spikers take on the home side at 1.30pm at Kitakyushu City Gymnasium in their second Pool A encounter. All times are Bahrain.

Ivan Joksimovic's men began their campaign with a 3-0 loss to Australia yesterday, going down 25-20, 25-18, 25-21 in a match lasting one hour and 17 minutes of playing time.

The Bahrainis were competitive in the opening and third sets but struggled to match Australia's attacking output across the contest.

The Aussies converted 44 of their 79 attacks, compared with 28 from 68 for the nationals, while they held a 6-4 advantage in blocks and 6-2 in points from serves.

Outside hitter Mahmood Abdulwahed was Bahrain's leading scorer with 10 points, including nine in attack and one block.

Mohammed Abdulla and Abdulla Mohammed Jaafar each added six points, while Australia's Lorenzo Pope led all scorers with 19.

A tougher test now awaits against hosts Japan, who opened their title defence with a 3-1 win over Oman, taking the match 25-18, 25-13, 20-25, 25-8.

Joksimovic's side will be looking for a response before completing their preliminary-round campaign against Gulf rivals Oman on Wednesday at 4am.

With only three matches for each team in the preliminary phase, Bahrain remain in contention for a place in the knockout stage.

The top two teams from each of the three pools advance to the quarter-finals, along with the two best third-placed sides.

Elsewhere yesterday, China opened their Pool B campaign with a 3-0 victory over India, winning 25-21, 28-26, 27-25.

Thailand also made a strong start in Pool C, sweeping Qatar 25-22, 25-19, 25-14.

Today's other matches see Iran face India in Pool B at 4am, while Qatar take on Chinese Taipei in Pool C at 7.30am.

The quarter-finals will be played on Thursday and Friday, followed by the semi-finals on Saturday and the medal matches on Sunday.

The champions will earn a direct quota place for the men's volleyball tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, while the top three will secure berths at the FIVB Men's Volleyball World Cup 2027.