Thailand and Bahrain set up an highly-anticipated final showdown of the 2023 AVC Challenger Cup for Men after demolishing Vietnam and Korea respectively to fight for the eventual title in this prestigious tournament and their unprecedented berth in the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup later this month.
Thailand
Bahrain
Seven teams have already qualified for the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup between July 26 and 30 in Doha comprising Chile, Dominican Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, China, the lowest-ranked Challenger team of the current edition of the VNL, and hosts Qatar. Only one spot from the on-going AVC Challenge Cup for Men in Taipei will fill the remaining space, making it ready for the fully-fledged eight teams to fight for the lone promotion ticket at stake to compete in the 2024 edition of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
Contesting the Ranking 1-6, which served as a do-or-die semifinal clash at the University of Taipei Hall on Friday, Thailand, current world No.60 and former consecutive four-time Southeast Asian (SEA) Games champions, produced a comeback 3-1 (20-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-15) win against world No.56 Vietnam.
The exceptional victory not only allowed Thailand an opportunity to fight for the eventual title in the eight-day tournament in Taipei which will guarantee them the final spot at the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup in Qatar, but also a successful revenge match for their stunning 0-3 loss to the Vietnamese side in the bronze medal match in the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia early this year.
Anut Promchan chipped in with 17 points from 16 attacks and one ace for Thailand, while Anurak Phanrum and Thanathat Thaweerat kept good company to add 14 and 12 points respectively.
In the Saturday’s final showdown, Thailand will face off against world No.74 Bahrain, which maintained their remarkable run following their dramatic victories against world No.37 Australia and world No.32 Korea in their last two matches.
Australia and Korea were the only two teams in Taipei which competed in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League, with the former contesting the 2018, 2019 and 2021 editions and the latter strutting their stuff in the 2018 episode.
On Friday, Mohamed Abdulla Yaqoob scored a match-high 23 points to steer Bahrain to the hard-fought straight-set 35-33, 25-23, 25-20 win in the action-packed semifinal encounter against formidable Korea, which picked up bronze medal at the last year’s FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup on home soil.
Yaqoob’s heroic action handed Bahrain 23 crucial points from 18 attacks, team-leading 3 blocks and 2 aces, while Heo Subong scored 21 points on the Korea’s stunning loss.
In the thrilling clashes for Ranking 7-12 earlier, world No.68 Kazakhstan powered past hosts Chinese Taipei in intense straight sets 25-22, 25-23, 25-23.
Ilya Tavolzhanskiy and Vladislav Kunchenko bagged 12 points apiece for Kazakhstan, while Chang Yu-Sheng led the home team with 18 points.
Mongolia also made their mark with a terrific comeback in their tough match against Philippines. The determined Mongolians lost the first two sets 17-25, 23-25 to bounce back mightily to win the remaining three sets 25-23, 25-22, 15-12 in exhausting 129 minutes.
Battur Batsuuri was on fire, scoring massive 31 points from 29 attacks, one block and one ace for Mongolia. Steven Charles Rotter topscored with 24 points for Philippines, with Marck Jesus Espejo adding 21 on the team’s losing effort.
Hong Kong, China had a field day on Friday as they pulled off a comfortable straight-set 25-16, 25-18, 25-20 win against Macao, China.
Tam Chun Ho Damian bagged 14 points including 11 attacks for Hong Kong, China, while Chan Ka Lon led Macao, China with 10 points.
On Saturday, the final day of the topflight tournament, Chinese Taipei will take on Philippines and Kazakhstan play Mongolia in the Ranking 7-12, while the Ranking 1-6 encounters see Indonesia challenge Australia, Vietnam go up against Korea and Thailand face off against Bahrain, which will decide the eventual title of the tournament and the final spot for the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup in Qatar.
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