Bangkok, Thailand, July 29, 2022 – Unbeaten Saudi Arabia will go up against Iraq and Bahrain will face Lebanon in the highly-anticipated semifinals of the 1st West Asia Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship at Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Sports Hall in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
After a rest day on Wednesday, the 10-day tournament resumed the following day in the cross quarterfinals, with Group A winners Bahrain taking on Group B 4th place Syria and Group A 2nd place Iraq challenging Group B 3rd place Kuwait.
Contesting the Thursday’s quarterfinals were Group A 3rd place Lebanon against Group B 2nd place Palestine and Group A 4th place UAE against Group B winners Saudi Arabia. In the 9th-10th place playoff, Group A 5th place Jordan will fight it out with Group B 5th place Qatar.
Hosts Saudi Arabia, the only team which have yet lost a single match to their respective rivals, continued their remarkable unbeaten record on Thursday to post a comfortable four-set (25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-8) win against the United Arab Emirates and secure a semifinal berth.
In the Friday’s do-or-die semifinals, the host side will take on Iraq, which played confidently and consistently to power past Kuwait in closely-contested three-setter 25-22, 25-23, 25-21.
In-form Bahrain also played well up to their standard as they dominated on the court and cruised to a convincing straight-set 25-22, 25-9, 25-22 triumph over Syria.
Bahrain will next challenge Lebanon, which came from behind to narrowly edge past Palestine in hard-fought five-set thriller 18-25, 25-23, 25-22, 27-29, 16-14, in the semifinal clash.
Meanwhile, Qatar ended their campaign in the inaugural West Asia Men’s U20 Championship with the 9th position after 3-0 (25-18 26-24, 25-19) demolition of Jordan in the 9th-10th place playoff, their first and last victory in the 10-team tournament.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Semifinals
Bahrain vs Lebanon
Saudi Arabia vs Iraq
5th-8th Playoffs
UAE vs Kuwait
Palestine vs Syria
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