Manama, Bahrain, August 1, 2024 – Japan and Pakistan became the first two teams to secure their semi-final berths in the 15th Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championship at the Isa Sport City Hall C here on Thursday.
The other two places will be decided on Friday following the completion of Pool E play in the tournament’s Elite Eight.
Defending and three-time champions Japan outplayed Korea, while Pakistan battled past Chinese Taipei. Both Japan and Pakistan were uncatchable with respective 6 and 5 points from the similar performances of 2-0 win/loss record to finish among top two in Pool F for sure. They will fight it out in a decisive match on Friday for the Pool F supremacy.
China ousted hosts Bahrain and Iran cruised past Thailand in Pool G and both sides inched closer to claiming their places in the last four.
Each of the semifinalists will also qualify for the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship, set to take place next year.
The last four will take place on Saturday along with the start of the final classification round. That will set the stage for the gold and bronze medal games on Sunday, when the final ranking will also be determined.
On Thursday, Japan punched their semis tickets after defeating Korea with a comeback 3-1 (28-30, 25-21, 25-17, 25-18) win in Pool F. The result earned the Japanese aggregate six points in this round – three of which they carried over from the preliminaries.
Karen Masajedi had a sensational performance with 31 points, while Rei Iwata added 18. Yuki and Kashiwazaki had 12. For the Koreans, Song Eunchan scored 19, while Lee Seungil chipped in 10 points in the loss.
Japan will battle it out with Pakistan on Friday, while Korea and Chinese Taipei, both of whom are out of further title contention and will compete in the 5th-8th classification on Saturday and Sunday, face off in the other group contest.
The Pakistanis overcame a mid-game collapse to defeat Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 25-23). After taking the first set, the Pakistanis went ahead 24-16 in the second. But in a stunning turn of events, Chinese Taipei strung together the next 10 points, sealing their comeback and drawing level.
However, Chinese Taipei could not build on their momentum and Pakistan recovered right away. They took the third set in convincing fashion before doing enough in the fourth to seal the contest.
Muhammad Yahya put in a class performance with 29 points to spearhead the victors, while Muhtad Ali Shah added 15 in their triumph. Hu Jun-Xiang was Chinese Taipei’s leading man with 15, while Chiang contributed 10.
Japan topped Pool F with six points, followed by Pakistan with five. Korea had one, with Chinese Taipei having no point awarded.
In Pool E, China moved within reach of the last four with their victory against Bahrain. They had a dominant start in the first set, where they held the home team to just single digit. But the Bahrainis showed heart and didn’t go down without a fight. It would not be enough, however, as the Chinese were firing on all cylinders, and they closed out the match with a 3-0 (25-8, 25-22, 25-20) score line.
Yu Xiang had 14 points to lead the way, while Li Xuyang chipped in with 11. Hasan Ebrahim had eight for Bahrain and Jassim Madan finished with seven.
Iran also took one step closer to the semis with a resounding 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-20) victory over Thailand. The Iranians were tested in the second and the Thais managed to forge a 22-all tie, but a service error by Krittin Damji gifted the Iranians the go-ahead point, and they took advantage. They then went for the kill in the third frame to secure the three-set sweep.
Noureyni Amir Naderi was Iran’s top scorer with 21 points, while Mohammadnima Bateni added 13 and Mohammad Amin Rahimi had 10. Sorasak Phunsanong led the Thais with nine points.
With those results, China improved to five points, followed by Iran with four points, Thailand two, and Bahrain one.
China and Thailand lock horns on Friday while Iran take on Bahrain. These games will determine the last two semi-finalists.
In the consolation groups, Australia and the Philippines were victorious in Pool G. Australia beat Lebanon 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-21), led by Sionetupou Veamatahau’s 15 points. The Filipinos were 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 28-26, 26-24) winners over Hong Kong China, with Luke Anton Carl Macatangay posting 20 points.
Both Australia and the Philippines secured their places in the 9th-12th bracket for their final classification in the tournament.
In Pool H, India and Kazakhstan were victorious on Thursday. India eased past Saudi Arabia 3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-18), while Kazakhstan defeated Kuwait 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-23).
Harnoor Singh had an impressive 20 points to pace India while Goma Dudi contributed 11. Sohil Khan posted eight points for Saudi Arabia in defeat.
The Kazakhs were led by Vladislav Mastikhin’s 14 points, while Rustam Bugayev added nine for their team. Naser Alsane and Abdulla Alali scored 11 points each for the Kuwaitis.
Both India and Kazakhstan made it through to the 9th-12th bracket, as they improved to six points apiece in their group. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait still had no point from two straight losses with just one game remaining in this stage.
POOL RANKING AND RESULTS
POOL E 1-8
POOL F 1-8
POOL G 9-16
POOL H 9-16
MATCH SCHEDULE
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