Asian Under-23 Men’s Volleyball Championships

Pakistan blow away Bahrain to move into quarters

By our correspondent

KARACHI: Pakistan blasted their way into the quarter-finals after whipping Bahrain 3-0 in their Group C second round outing of the 3rd Asian Under-23 Men’s Volleyball Championships in Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on Sunday.

It means that Bahrain, who had also lost to Chinese Taipei in their opener on Saturday, got relegated to the 9th-16th spot classification phase.

Going into the game after crushing Qatar 3-0 in their opener on Saturday, Pakistan kept their ruthless run, hammering Bahrain quite convincingly to make it to the quarter-finals. In the first set, both sides played well but Pakistan showed that they were much better than their rivals, sealing the set 25-21 to take a solid start.

In the second set, at one stage, a grueling fight was witnessed when both sides were locked 15-15 due to some tight defence from Bahrain. However, Pakistan afterwards made strong recovery when they captured the set with 25-21 margin to take a 2-0 lead.

In the third set Pakistan showed better game and lifted the set 25-15 to record an effective win.

Fahad Raza led from the front with 18 points. Muhammad Waseem contributed nine points through his deadly attacks, while Hasan Abbas top-scored 11 points for Bahrain.

Pakistan on Monday (today) will challenge Chinese Taipei to decide the winners of Pool C. Pakistan and Chinese Taipei will then be put in the group in the quarter-finals league with Group A top two teams. Australia from Group A have already qualified for the quarter-finals. The second quarter-finalists from Group A will be decided on Monday (today).

Similarly, leading two teams each from Group B and Group D will also form a group in the quarter-finals league. And from there two teams from each pool will advance to the semi-finals.

Pakistan’s captain Fahad Raza was hopeful about his team’s winning chances of the 16-nation event. “We have a strong side. If all players performed as per their potential then I am sure we will win the event,” Fahad told ‘The News’.

“Our match to be held tomorrow against Chinese Taipei is also crucial as a win there will make us group winners and that will further boost our morale,” the Karak-born player said. Meanwhile, Pakistan Volleyball Federation’s (PVF) chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob was happy with the way Pakistan overwhelmed Bahrain.

“The team played well. Fahad Raza was excellent. He is a fine player and the coach expects more from him,” Yaqoob said. Bahrain’s head coach Khalifa Yusuf defended his side.

“My players came to this tournament after finishing eighth in the Men’s Under-21 World Championships earlier in Bahrain. They are extremely tired. They are good in the start but cannot close the set in their favour due to lack of concentration,” Khalifa said after the match.