VOLLEYBALL – BAHRAIN is getting all geared up to host one of the continent’s premier volleyball tournaments for the second straight year.
The sixth edition of the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup will be hosted by the kingdom from June 17 to 24, with 12 senior men’s national teams competing for top honours.
The meeting is being organised by the Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) in cooperation with the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and Volleyball World.
Aside from tournament glory, the event also acts as a qualifier for the 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship, with the winners punching their ticket to the continental showcase.
Bahrain have been drawn in Pool A for the tournament’s opening round, where they are joined by Thailand and Indonesia. Pool B features defending champions Qatar, Australia, and Kazakhstan; Pool C is composed of last year’s silver-medallists Pakistan, Chinese-Taipei, and the Philippines; and Pool D includes the 2024 bronze-medallists South Korea, Vietnam, and New Zealand.
Teams will first compete in round-robin pool play, with the top two from each pool advancing to the quarter-finals. The remaining sides will compete in classification matches for ninth to 12th place.
Games are set to be held at Isa bin Rashid Arena, located at Isa Sports City in Riffa. Four fixtures are scheduled for each day of play, starting from 11.30am and the last beginning no earlier than 7pm.
Bahrain’s senior men’s national team have begun their preparations for the tournament with training under their newly signed French head coach Arnaud Josserand, who has taken over for departed Argentinian tactician Jorge Elgueta.
The Bahrainis are holding a training camp in Cairo, Egypt, with 16 players involved. The roster will then be trimmed to a final 14-man list for the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup 2025. Expected to be amongst the top names on the squad are Mohammed Yaqoob, Ali Ebrahim, Naser Anan, Sayed Hashem Isa, and Mahmood Alafyah, among others.
The host Bahrainis finished seventh overall in last year’s competition, when Qatar secured the gold medals after sweeping past their Pakistani counterparts in three sets in the final.
The nationals have excelled in past editions of the tournament. In the 2023 event held in Chinese Taipei, they bagged the silver medals after losing to Thailand in the title-decider. Three Bahraini players also came away with individual awards in that championship, including Yaqoob who was named one of two Best Outside Hitters, Ebrahim who was the Best Opposite, and Ayman Harwana who was selected as the Best Libero.
Meanwhile, the BVA’s first executive committee meeting for the event was chaired by BVA secretary general and committee chairman Feras Al Halwachi. It was attended by heads of the various working committees and focused on the tournament’s operational planning and logistics.
Al Halwachi provided an overview of the committee’s structure and responsibilities, outlining the collective efforts required to ensure a successful hosting.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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