Pakistan thrashed in Asian Volleyball opener

KARACHI: Pakistan had a disappointing start at the Asian Volleyball Championship in Surabaya, Indonesia, as they went 0-3 down against Chinese Taipei in their Group B opener.

The last edition’s fifth place finishers Chinese Taipei did not let Pakistan settle down at any stage. After winning the first two sets 25-17 and 25-16, Chinese Taipei seemed awesome in the third set as they won it 25-14 to seal a commanding victory.

Pakistan’s coach Hamid Movahedi had told ‘The News’ a couple of hours before the match that Chinese Taipei were very professional and had a lot of experience. “Before this event, they featured in the World League, Asian Club Championship and World Championship qualifiers. But we are working hard and we have analysed Chinese Taipei,” Hamid said.

After the match the coach could not be reached despite several attempts. Pakistan will face Iran in their next show on Tuesday (today). Pakistan finished tenth in the last edition. Iran were the runners-up of that event which was won by Japan. Iraq are the other team in Pakistan’s group.

In another Group B clash, Iran routed Iraq 3-0. In Group A, Indonesia defeated Saudi Arabia 3-1 and Kazakhstan edged past Qatar 3-2 in an enthralling clash. In Group C, Japan crushed Sri Lanka 3-0 and South Korea beat Vietnam 3-0. In Group D, China defeated Thailand 3-0 and Australia defeated Hong Kong 3-0.