CHINESE TAIPEI, SRI LANKA, HOSTS BAHRAIN REMAIN ON COURSE WITH TWO WINS IN A ROW
Manama, Bahrain, July 22, 2018 – Hosts Bahrain, Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka captured two wins in succession, as title-holders China suffered a slump with two straight losses on the second day of the 19th Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Isa Sport City Hall on Sunday.
Korea produced an epic 3-2 (25-23 25-22 20-25 22-25 15-12) victory over China, which had already suffered their first defeat at the hands of in-form Iran in their previous match. The formidable Koreans will next go up against Iran to decide the Pool A winners in the last round-robin preliminary match on Monday.
Thailand and Turkmenistan also faced the similar situation in Pool B when both sides struggled in a hard-fought five-set thriller. Phiraphat Prommajan highlighted Thailand’s impressive depth with a spectacular performance against Turkmenistan, assisting his side to pull off a dramatic 3-2 (25-20 26-28 22-25 25-21 15-10) win.
Sri Lanka, fresh from beating Kazakhstan 3-1 in their opening clash on Saturday, continued their unbeaten record with a 3-1 (24-26 25-13 26-24 25-21) comeback win over Australia. The two wins in succession has ensured Sri Lanka the Pool C top spot.
Bahrain, which thrashed Iraq in straight sets on the previous day, gained an easy 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-10) win over Qatar to make a clean sweep in Pool D.
In Pool E, Chinese Taipei took the first two sets 25-17 25-15 in the match against Pakistan, but lost their touch to drop the third set 14-25 to win the fourth set 25-18 for an eventual 3-1 win. Winning two matches in succession gave Chinese Taipei the top spot in Pool E.
Meanwhile, India, which won their first match without sweating against Uzbekistan, bagged another straight-set 25-22 25-22 25-16 win over New Zealand in Pool G.
Elsewhere, Jordan, which made their presence felt in the 2004 edition in Qatar with a bottom 19th place finish, kicked off their campaign in Manama with a straight-set 29-27 25-18 25-23 win over the United Arab Emirates in Pool F, while Macao mercilessly crushed inexperienced Maldives in a totally one-sided battle 25-9 25-8 25-11 in Pool H.
The pool plays continue on Monday, the last day of the preliminary round. Only top two teams from this championship will make the cut for the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship.
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Court 1
Chinese Taipei b Pakistan 3-1 (25-17, 25-15, 14-25, 25-18)
Korea b China 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 22-25, 15-12)
Thailand b Turkmenistan 3-2 (25-20, 26-28, 22-25, 25-21, 15-10)
Bahrain b Qatar 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-10)
Court 2
Macao b Maldives 3-0 (25-9, 25-8, 25-11)
India b New Zealand 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-16)
Sri Lanka b Australia 3-1 (24-26, 25-13, 26-24, 25-21)
Jordan b United Arab Emirates 3-0 (29-27, 25-18, 25-23)
MATCH SCHEDULE
July 23, 2018 (Local time)
Preliminary Round
11.30am
Japan v Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan v New Zealand (cancelled)
14:00pm
Iran v Korea
Hong Kong v UAE
16:30pm
Iraq v Qatar
Malaysia v Macao
19:00 pm
Saudi Arabia v Pakistan
Kazakhstan v Australia
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