VOLLEYBALL – CHINA were crowned champions last night in the 15th Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championship, which came to a close at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
The Chinese clinched their first-ever title in the tournament after battling back from a set down to defeat Iran 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 20-25, 15-10) in a thrilling final.
China had previously won bronze four times in past editions of the competition, most recently in 2017, and also improved on their fifth-place finish from the previous championship in 2022.
Their victory handed Iran the silver medals for the second straight time and third overall. The Iranians still hold the record for most Asian under-18 titles with seven.
China and Iran were joined on the podium by Pakistan, who came away with third place following a stunning 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-17) victory against Japan.
After last night’s action, General Sports Authority CEO Dr Abdulrahman Askar and Bahrain Olympic Committee board member and Bahrain Table Tennis Association president Shaikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa were amongst the officials who presented the teams their respective trophies and medals.
Also on hand were the championship’s control committee chairman and technical delegate Yermek Syrlybayev, and BVA secretary general and executive committee chairman Feras Al Helwachi.
Individual awards were handed out during the closing formalities to the best performers in the competition.
In the gold medal game, both teams traded jabs all throughout the match, with neither allowing their opponents to create a comfortable gap.
After splitting the first two sets, the Chinese carried their momentum into the third. A Hu Hanlin spike later sealed the frame for his team and earned them a slim 2-1 advantage. Iran fought back in the fourth set and Saribaglouyaralegh Amirreza Saadat set Rahimi up for a brilliant smash for a 16-10 advantage. Rahimi then gave Iran set point, and Noureyni Amir Naderi supplied the winner, setting up the tie-break.
There, Wang Jingkebo broke a five-all deadlock and then two straight defensive stops put the Chinese ahead 10-6. They never looked back from there. Li Xuyang sealed the title for China with a brilliant spike from the right wing.
Li, who has been in top form throughout the championship, finished as the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. Ding Haocheng added 15 and Wang had 10 in the win. Rahimi scored 18 for Iran, while Mobin Kolasangiani chipped in with 12 and Bateni 11 in the loss.
In the match for third place, Pakistan were firing on all cylinders and outplayed their opponents in three quick sets. Yahya was their star man with 21 points, while Muhtad Ali Shah added 14 in a resounding performance. Yuki Kashiwazaki had nine points and Teruki Ishida added seven for the Japanese, who appeared far from their best.
Pakistan captured their first-ever medals in only their second appearance in the competition. Their previous best was 11th in 2018, which was their only other time to compete in this age-group competition.
By placing fourth, Japan missed out on a top three finish for the first time since 2010. They were the champions in the three last editions in 2017, 2018 and 2022, but could not continue that winning run this year.
South Korea took fifth overall as they wrapped up their campaign in Bahrain with a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17) win against Thailand. Pyeonggang Shin and Sehoon Im were in impressive form, scoring 27 points and 23, respectively. Sorasak Phunsanong was the leading man for Thailand with 20 points while Kongkraphan Nimlamun and Krittin Damji had 11 apiece.
The South Koreans finished outside of the top four for the first time since the 2014 tournament, while the Thais took sixth place for the fourth time.
Hosts Bahrain secured seventh place overall after battling past Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 31-29, 25-18). Playing in the tournament for only the second time, the home team improved on their ninth-place finish. Chinese Taipei, the event’s first-ever champions in 1997 and participants in every edition since, maintained their impressive run of ranking amongst the Elite Eight each time.
Ali Sultan and Jassim Madan were in sensational form for the Bahrainis, combining for 52 of their points. Hu Jun-Xiang was Chinese Taipei’s top scorer with 18, while Lu Cheng-Yuan chipped in with 13.
Meanwhile, India, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia were all victorious on Sunday in their final classification games from ninth through 16th.
The Indians took ninth overall after cruising past Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15); the Philippines defeated Australia 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23) to take 11th; Hong Kong claimed 13th place overall after edging past Lebanon 3-2 (25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 19-25, 15-6); and Saudi Arabia secured 15th on the final ranking after defeating fellow-Gulf side Kuwait 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 26-24).
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))