Pak youth upstage Oman in Asian Men’s Volleyball

KARACHI: Pakistan youth volleyball team kept their golden run intact as it upstaged Oman 3-1 to be among the top eight in the 12th Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship in Porsharifi Gymnasium in Tabriz, Iran, on Monday.

Pakistan had beaten New Zealand in the first group match.

Pakistan will now face South Korea, the strongest in the 17-team event, on Tuesday (today). The winners of Tuesday outing will qualify for the World Championships which will be held in 2019.

Coached by Iranian Hamid Movahedi, Pakistan’s colts displayed their fine skills in the jam-packed gymnasium against strong Oman. After winning the first set 25-17, Pakistan went down by a narrow margin of 26-28 in the second set. The Green-shirts, who had been trained for eight months, regained their superiority, clinching the third and the fourth sets 25-10 and 25-15, respectively.

Movahedi was happy with the outcome. “The boys played extremely well,” Movahedi told ‘The News’ from Tabriz.

He said Pakistan’s Tuesday game against South Korea would be very important. “South Koreans are the best in the event. They defeated China 3-0 and Japan 3-1,” Movahedi said.

Pakistan Volleyball Federation’s (PVF) chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob was also elated by the consistent performance from the team. “The team really gave a consistent performance and it’s a great thing,” he told this correspondent.

“I hope the team will keep doing well,” Yaqoob said.