VOLLEYBALL – ASIA’S volleyball big guns flexed their muscles last night as the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Men got underway in Bahrain.
South Korea, China, Australia and Pakistan all claimed impressive victories in their opening fixtures at Isa bin Rashid Arena at Isa Sports City in Riffa.
All of yesterday’s contests were decided in three sets, with the South Koreans beating Indonesia, China defeating the Philippines, Australia powering past Chinese Taipei, and Pakistan outclassing Kazakhstan.
Bahrain Volleyball Association president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa was amongst those in attendance enjoying the action. Games continue today and all are welcome to attend. Entrance to the venue is free of charge.
World number 28 South Korea outplayed an extremely young Indonesia, cruising to a comfortable 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-9) sweep in Pool C.
Their Brazilian head coach Issanaye Ramires, who was formerly at the helm of Bahrain’s senior men’s squad, stressed that his team must always play at a high level, regardless of who are across the net.
“Even if Indonesia are a young team, we have a very big responsibility in our match,” he said. “When we have unbalanced level games, the players usually lose concentration really easily, so our target today was to play our system, and keep our minds strong to always play hard the next ball.
“That’s the big trap when you face teams like this; we know Indonesia are trying to get their guys ready for the under-20 Asian championship, so they did their best, and we did our best. The greatest thing for us was the total focus that we had.”
Outside hitter Jihan Kim had 16 points to lead South Korea, while opposite Hojin Shin added 13 and middle blocker Junhyeok Choi had 10. Both Shin and Choi scored five of their points on blocks. Indonesian opposite Fauzan Nibras, who turned 16 just last Friday, led his side with eight points in the loss.
In Pool A, world number 31 China overcame a battling Philippines 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-22).
Jingyin Zhang top scored for the victors with 15 points, while Chuan Jian added 13 and Yuanti Yu posted seven. Leo Ordiales and Joshua Umandal each had 10 to pace the Filipinos, while Marck Espejo scored eight.
“I think we had a lot of problems in controlling our serve, getting the block defence working, and we had to fight pretty hard against this team,” said China head coach Vital Heynen from Belgium. “But good teams grow in a tournament, and I hope we can grow in this tournament.”
World number 35 Australia got off to their strong start in Pool D against Chinese Taipei, who have also come to Bahrain with a squad of youngsters. They took their contest 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17).
Outside hitter Sam Flowerday had a game-high 16 points, while middle blocker Trent O’Dea added nine. Outside hitter Jheng Wei-Jhih scored 10 points for Chinese Taipei, while opposite Lin Ting-Wei had seven in the loss.
“The first match of a tournament is always about who can be more consistent,” said Australia head coach Dan Ilott. “We made quite a few errors, so it wasn’t a really smooth game for us. We were good in patches and we hope every day we can increase our consistency and improve our level, game by game.”
Pakistan, ranked 49th in the world, came away with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-21) triumph in Pool B against Kazakhstan, with opposite Murad Khan scoring 21 points to lead the victors. Skipper Murad Jehan added nine and middle blocker Musawer Khan finished with eight. For Kazakhstan, outside hitter Vitaliy Vorivodin had 14 points, while middle blocker Nodrikhan Kadirkhanov and outside hitter Boris Kempa had six apiece.
Pakistan head coach Ruben Wolochin of Argentina, who guided Bahrain to the silver medals in last year’s edition of the tournament, was pleased with his team’s opening performance.
“We’ve opened the championship well and I am very proud of our players,” said Wolochin. “It is always very difficult starting a competition, but I think we had a solid game. We played a lot of defence, and we were patient in our attack.
“We are happy to be here in Bahrain, where the organisation is always excellent.”
Another set of four games are set to be held today at the same venue. The Australians will be looking for their second straight win when they face Vietnam in Pool D at 11.30am, to be followed by defending champions Thailand beginning their quest for a second straight title against Pakistan in Pool B at 2pm. At 4.30pm, South Korea go up against world number 21 Qatar in a mammoth Pool C clash, to be followed at 7pm by hosts Bahrain kicking off their repeat-medal bid against the Philippines in Pool A.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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