Japan attacks Kazakhstan
Manama, Bahrain, July 28, 2024 – Powerhouses Japan, Iran and India emerged triumphant on the opening day of action at the 15th Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championship at Isa Sport City Hall.
Iran celebrate their win
All three medalists from the 2022 edition took one step forward towards securing a berth in the tournament’s Elite Eight.
India win first match against Kuwait
Their wins were part of an exciting show of top-class volleyball, as the future stars of the continental game displayed their prowess across two competition courts in Isa Sports City, located just outside the Bahraini capital of Manama.
Also taking wins on Day One were Pakistan, China, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Hong Kong China, which stunned the home crowd with a five-set thriller against Bahrain. However, Korea, which finished a well-earned fourth place at the previous edition in Iran, suffered a setback on the very first day of the top-tier championship as they succumbed to 2-3 defeat to the in-form Pakistanis.
The 16-nation tournament continues on Monday with the second day of pool play. Eight matches a day are being held in the competition, which is taking place in the Arabian Gulf for the first time.
On Sunday, Japan edged past Kazakhstan 3-1 (25-27, 25-19, 25-12, 26-24) to get their Pool B campaign off on a positive note.
The defending and three-time champions needed to battle back from a set down to claim the hard-earned triumph and come away with the full three points.
Karen Masajedi spearheaded the Japanese with a game-high 20 points, while Yuki Kashiwazaki added 18 and team captain Sawa Maeda added 11. Nurassyl Mukhtar paced Kazakhstan in the loss with 13 points.
Japan are back in action on Monday against Saudi Arabia, while Kazakhstan will look to bounce back against Chinese Taipei, which were 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-22) victors against the Saudi Arabians.
Tsung-Jui Tsai was the best scorer for Chinese Taipei in that win with 16 points. Pin-Yu Pan and Jun-Xiang Hu added seven apiece. For Saudi Arabia, which recently clinched the title in the Arab Youth Championship in Amman, Jordan, Saeed Mukhtar was their leading performer with 12 points.
Former seven-time champions Iran cruised to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-10) rout of Lebanon in Pool C. The Iranians, silver medallists in 2022, scored nearly twice as many points as their opponents in the contest, with opposite spiker Noureyni Amir Naderi posting a game-high 13 points in the win. Charbel Al Najour finished with 10 points to lead the Lebanese.
Iran will next take on the Philippines on Monday. The Filipinos had already lost to China in their opening game.
The Chinese were dominant in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16) triumph over the Philippines. Zhenbo Lou and Xiang Yu both finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Luke Anton Carl Macatangay was the top scorer for the Philippines with 12 points in the loss.
In Pool A, hosts Bahrain were dealt a disheartening defeat to Hong Kong, China in a marathon match.
Hong Kong, China were on the brink of defeat in the fourth set but miraculously turned things around to force the tie-break, where they did enough to eke out the final result.
The victors were able to overcome the fantastic 40-point effort of Bahrain’s Jassim Madan, who had a monster performance but needed to battle cramps during the game. Ali Sultan contributed 18 points.
Leading Hong Kong, China was Ching Kin Ko, who himself had an outstanding individual showing with 36 points. Yiu Cheong Cheung contributed 12 for the winners.
In the other Pool A clash, Thailand recovered from a sluggish start to post a 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-13, 25-21) comeback victory against Australia.
Jirayu Simtama was in form for the Thais scoring 21 points, while Sorasak Phunsanong added 12 and Kiarttisak Seta finished with 11 in the win. Veamatahau and Cody Meisenhofen had 11 points apiece for the Australians.
Bahrain and Thailand will face off on Monday, while Australia take on Hong Kong, China.
India and Pakistan were both triumphant in Pool D as they prepare for a mammoth encounter on Monday.
India powered past Kuwait 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-14) as they looked to improve on their bronze medals from the previous edition of the championship. Harish Vats and Harnoor Singh finished with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
For Pakistan, they edged past Korea 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 15-13) for a sensational opening win. Muhammad Yahya had 24 points to lead all scorers in the game, while Ajmal Junaid added 16 and Muhammad Anas had 10 for the victors.
For Korea, Sehoon Im had 18 points while Pyeonggang Shin finished with 13 in their tough loss.
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