Bahrain advance

Bahrain barged into the Round of 16 in the 19th Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship following a hard-earned victory this evening over spirited Malaysia. The hosts recovered from a poor start to rally for a 3-1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-10, 25-21) triumph and book their tickets to the next knockout stage, much to the delight of the massive home crowd at Isa Sports City in Riffa.

Also advancing with big wins yesterday were Taipei, Pakistan, India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Qatar. Taipei defeated New Zealand, Pakistan outplayed Jordan, India beat Hong Kong, Iraq swept Macau, Saudi Arabia ousted the UAE, and Kazakhstan disposed of the Maldives. Qatar, meanwhile, literally didn’t break a sweat in their win by default over already withdrawn Uzbekistan.