Kyrgyzstan’s Abdimomun Uulu Iliaz attacks Afghanistan
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, October 23, 2024 – Kyrgyzstan and hosts Uzbekistan finished top two at the end of the action-packed single round-robin preliminaries of the 2024 CAVA Men’s Volleyball Championship at the JAR Sport Complex on Wednesday to battle it out for the gold medal on Thursday, promising an exciting conclusion to the one-week tournament.
In a high-energy match, Uzbekistan fought hard against Turkmenistan, with a large number of passionate home fans in the stands cheering them all the way.
Despite the hosts’ strong start to clinch the first two sets 25-14 and 25-23, it was tough going and a lot of hard-fought battles in the third and fourth sets, which saw Turkmenistan gather their courage to bounce back impressively, creating a lot of problems to the host side.
The strong visitors kept their rhythm to win both sets 25-23, 25-19, forcing the tie-breaker.
The decider turned out to be a hotly-contested set, but Turkmenistan fared better, keeping their edge until the end to win the nail-biting deciding set 17-15 and match.
Opposite Veyisov Bayramgeldi chipped in 16 points from 14 attacks, one block and one ace for Turkmenistan, while outside hitter Rahimov Dovranbek assisted with another 14 points and middle blocker Gulyyev Mithun and opposite Garlyyev Suleyman added 12 apiece. Captain and opposite Sobirov Islomjon led Uzbekistan with 16 points including 14 attacks from 30 attempts.
In the first match earlier, Kyrgyzstan, the only team which have yet lost a single match to their respective rivals, proved that they are the strongest team to beat in this championship.
as they came back from the closely-contested first set down 29-31 to beat Afghanistan in the next three sets 25-18, 25-22, 25-21 for a solid 3-1 win.
Captain and opposite Kanybek Uulu delivered 19 points from 17 attacks, one block and one ace for Kyrgyzstan, while opposite Kohistani Naser scored 19 points including 17 attacks from 34 attempts on the Afghanistan’s loss.
The other encounter saw Maldives register their first victory in the tournament following their fantastic 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22) triumph over Tajikistan.
Captain and outside hitter Sajid Ismail steered Maldives to victory in this match as he scored a match-high 28 points including 27 kills from 55 attempts, while opposite Hussain Shamaail contributed another 20 points. Opposite Ghulomaliev Yodgorjon and skipper and outside hitter Mavlonazarov Mustansir scored 19 points apiece on the Tajikistan’s loss.
At the end of the single round-robin preliminaries on Wednesday, Kyrgyzstan finished unscathed atop the six-team standing with 14 points from five straight wins. Uzbekistan had 11 points from three wins against two losses, while Turkmenistan had 10 points from four wins against one loss. However, due to the CAVA regulations, match points will be first taken into consideration for team classification and as a result, Uzbekistan finished second, with Turkmenistan in third position.
Afghanistan and Maldives had the similar performance with one win against four losses to have 4 points apiece. However, due to the better sets ratio, Afghanistan finished fourth, with Maldives in fifth position. Tajikistan had 2 points from one win against four losses to finish on the bottom sixth.
On Thursday, the final day of the championship, which serves as the qualification for the next year’s CAVA Volleyball Men’s Nations League, Kyrgyzstan will face off against Uzbekistan for the eventual title, while Turkmenistan and Afghanistan will battle it out in the third-place playoff for bronze medal. Maldives and Tajikistan will vie for the fifth position.
With the preliminary stage now complete, all eyes are on Thursday’s finals as the top teams battle for the championship title in what promises to be an unforgettable day of volleyball in Tashkent.
MATCH RESULTS AND RANKING AFTER PRELIMINARIES
MATCH SCHEDULE
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