SOUTH Korea and Thailand yesterday entered the semi-finals of the 21st Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship, being hosted by the Kingdom at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
South Korea secured their berth following a resounding 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-20) win over Bangladesh, while Thailand marched through after edging past China 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12) in a high-intensity clash between two previously unbeaten teams.
South Korea now take on defending champions Iran in the final four while Thailand face off with India. Both contests are scheduled for today along with other classification fixtures as part of a packed eight-game schedule.
Action begins from 11.30am at the Bahrain Volleyball Association’s Isa bin Rashid Arena and the Bahrain Table Tennis Association Arena, both at Isa Sports City.
The winners of the two semi-finals will not only have the chance to go for gold, but they will also earn the two places to represent Asia at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship.
Meanwhile, Pakistan posted a convincing 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 27-25) sweep of Qatar in their classification contest today. Aimal Hayat and Muhammad Ajmal had 13 points apiece to spearhead the victors. Pakistan next play Saudi Arabia today.
Iraq edged past the UAE 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 15-10) in a five-setter. Hasan Taha scored 29 points to lead the winners in the match.
In other games, Chinese-Taipei cruised past Hong Kong 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-17) while Japan outclassed Australia 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-14) in classification matches for 13th to 16th.
Today’s matches: 11.30am - Bahrain vs Iraq; Saudi Arabia vs Pakistan; 2pm - China vs Bangladesh; Hong Kong vs Australia; 4.30pm - India vs Thailand; Chinese-Taipei vs Japan; 7pm - Iran vs South Korea; UAE vs Qatar
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