Bahrain beat Lebanon in West Asian junior volleyball

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain posted their second successive come-from-behind win yesterday in this year’s West Asian Junior Volleyball Championship, being held in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. The under-20 nationals battled back after conceding the first set to claim a well-deserved 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-17) win against Lebanon in their Group A fixture, held at the Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Sports City arena.

The result came a day after the Bahrainis claimed a four-set win against Iraq in a game they also lost the opening frame. The win put the nationals atop their division, which also includes the UAE and Jordan. Bahrain have a rest day today and return to the court tomorrow when they take on their Emirati counterparts. The 10-nation competition also features hosts Saudi, Qatar, Syria, Kuwait and Palestine in Group B.

After a single round-robin to complete the preliminary round, the top four from both groups advance to the cross quarter-finals with the Group A winners taking on Group B fourth-placers, and so on. The teams finishing fifth in each group will fight it out for ninth overall. The semi-finals and classification round for fifth to eighth-places will be held on Friday. All participating teams will have one-day rest the following day, while the final classification matches, bronze medal game and gold medal showdown, will all take place on July 31.

Bahrain’s junior nationals are coached by Tunisian tactician Saber Abdulwahed and their squad in Qatif includes Hussain Ali, Redha Matrook, Ali Al Bosta, Hassan Al Warqa, Sayed Hashem Issa, Ali Hussain, Ali Habib, Sadeq Marhoon, Sayed Ahmed Murtadha, Hussain Abdulredha, Hassan Aliwi and Abbas Ihsan. The Bahrainis are using the West Asian tournament to prepare for the 21st Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship, which will be held in the Kingdom next month.