Manama, Bahrain, June 21, 2025 – Qatar, Pakistan, Korea and hosts Bahrain secured their spots in the semifinals of the inaugural AVC Men’s Nations Cup after posting impressive victories in the quarterfinals at Isa bin Rashid Hall on Saturday, with Qatar narrowly edging Vietnam in a five-set thriller to set up a semifinal clash against Pakistan, marking a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s AVC Challenge Cup final.
With the ultimate title at stake in Bahrain, along with the lone berth for the 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship, a qualification pathway to volleyball’s two global showpieces, the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, Korea also booked their semifinal ticket after surviving a stiff challenge from Australia in a gripping four-setter, 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 25-23).
Joining them in the last four were Pakistan, which fought back for a 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-17) win against Indonesia, and hosts Bahrain, whic thrilled the home crowd with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 35-33) triumph over Chinese Taipei.
World No.23 Qatar, seeking to add this historic AVC Men’s Nations Cup title to their 2024 AVC Challenge Cup crown, encountered unexpected resistance from Vietnam, ranked 55th.
Vietnam’s determined defense and attacking flair saw them snatch the first set and force a decisive fifth, but the experience and firepower of the Qatari squad ultimately sealed the deal.
Star outside hitter Youssef Oughlaf led Qatar with a match-high 22 points from 20 attacks, one block, and an ace. Ribeiro Renan (21), Raimi Wadidie (19), Ibrahim Mohamed (16), and Belal Nabel Abunabot (13) all delivered double-digit scoring contributions. For Vietnam, Nguyen Van Quoc Duy tallied 22 points, while The Khai Truong, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, and Tran Duy Tuyen added 17, 15, and 13 respectively.
Despite trailing in opponent errors (21-28), Qatar outperformed Vietnam in all key elements – attacks (73-64), blocks (15-8), and aces (7-4) – to clinch the victory in 137 minutes.
Qatar will now renew their rivalry with Pakistan in the semifinals on Monday. The two sides last met in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup final, with Qatar sweeping to a convincing 3-0 victory. Meanwhile, Vietnam will battle Indonesia in the 5th–8th classification round on Sunday.
World No.43 Pakistan also faced a challenging start against consecutive three-time SEA Games champions Indonesia, dropping the opening set before storming back to claim the next three. Captain Murad Jehan led Pakistan with 20 points, while Usman Faryad Ali chipped in 16. Indonesia’s veteran opposite Rivan Nurmulki countered with 22 points in a valiant losing effort.
Pakistan’s superior blocking (16 to Indonesia’s 7), stronger serving (6-3), and capitalizing on opponent errors (23-17) propelled them into the semifinals, despite Indonesia holding a slight advantage in attacks (56-50).
The defeat saw Indonesia drop four places to No.61 in the world rankings, while Pakistan maintained their 43rd position.
In another quarterfinal, Korea held off a spirited Australian challenge. Despite 29 points from Australia’s William D’Arcy-Miles and 23 from Sam Flowerday, the Koreans displayed balanced team effort.
Heo Subong (18), Im Donghyeok (15), Kim Jihan (11), and Lee Sanghyeon (10) all contributed for Korea, who commanded in attack (54-48), serving (7-6), and took advantage of Australian errors (30-20), although they trailed in blocking (6-15).
Korea will next face hosts Bahrain in Monday’s semifinals.
Bahrain delighted the home supporters with a straight-sets victory over Chinese Taipei, overcoming a determined challenge in the third set to seal the win.
Opposite Ali Ebrahim Khamis led the charge with 17 points, while Mohamed Yaqoob (15) and Mohamed Abdulla (10) provided solid support. Chang Yu-Sheng scored 20 points in Chinese Taipei’s losing effort.
For their impressive win, Bahrain gained 8.52 points to rise to world No.54, while Chinese Taipei dropped four places to No.50.
Sunday’s schedule features Thailand, ranked No.64, taking on world No.63 New Zealand in the 9th–11th Classification Round at 14:00 local time. The 5th–8th classification matches will see Australia facing Chinese Taipei at 16:30, followed by an all-Southeast Asian showdown between Indonesia and Vietnam at 19:00.
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