The Peninsula
Hosts Qatar yesterday defeated Thailand 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 26-24) in a thrilling contest to advance to the semi-finals of the 2023 Volleyball Challenger Cup.
At the Aspire Ladies Sports Hall, Wadidie Raimi (16) scored most points for the former Asian champions, while Renan Ribeiro (12), Oughlaf Youssef (11) and captain Mohamed Ibrahim (10) also made valuable contributions.
The East Asian team had qualified for the Doha tournament following their title win at the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup in Chinese Taipei, and pushed the hosts to their limits in all three sets of yesterday's quarter-final, their debut at the Challenger Cup.
Bhinijdee was the best scorer of the game with 23 points for Thailand, including two aces,
“It was really exciting! To have all these people, the kids and the families around is amazing!” Ibrahim said after the match.
“We haven’t had this kind of completion here in Doha in a long time. Now we are ready to repeat it, if possible. Like every day, tomorrow we have to win in order to go to the next round. We’ll see how it goes, but our mindset now is to reach the final.”
Al Annabi spikers will meet Chile in the semi-final of the high profile tournament today.
Earlier, Chile secured their spot in the semis with a momentous 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-23) victory over Tunisia in their last-eight clash yesterday.
It was the South American side's maiden victory in the history of the tournament, having failed to record a win during three previous editions of the Challenger Cup.
In a tightly contested first set with a score tied at 8-8, Gabriel Araya’s remarkable serve propelled Chile to an impressive eight-point lead, and they never looked back. While Tunisia tried to make a comeback in the second set, Chile displayed their resilience, catching up at 11-11 and eventually securing the set. The third set saw Chile maintain their lead throughout, with Tunisia making several attempts to level the score but falling short before captain Dusan Bonacic sealed the victory at 25-23.
“This team has been working for a long time. We wanted to show the world what we were capable of, so we are very happy to win this match this way. The most important thing is that we never stopped playing. Even in the second set, after starting with 6-1, we kept playing until the end, and that was the key to the match. We fought hard, and we played very well until the end. I am very proud of this team,” Vicente Parraguirre, who delivered 33 points for the winning team, told FIVB's official web site after the match.
Meanwhile, in another gripping quarter-final clash, debutants Ukraine beat China 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19).
The European squad showcased their dominance with stellar blocking and powerful swings in the first two sets, taking a commanding 2-0 lead. Despite a spirited comeback attempt by China in the third set, Ukraine managed to regain control and ultimately sealed the match with a clever tip by middle blocker Dmytro Teryomenko.
Last year’s finalists Türkiye made it to the Challenger Cup semifinals for the third time in a row. In yesterday's last quarterfinal, they managed a 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 24-26, 25-19) victory over Dominican Republic and will face Ukraine in one of the semis on today.
The title winners in Doha will secure a spot in the men’s Volleyball Nations League 2024.