Alkass Digital
Qatar cruised into the semi-finals of the 2024 Asian Men’s Volleyball Challenge Cup after outsmarting China 25-19, 25-19, and 25-19 in straight sets in Isa Town, Bahrain, yesterday.
Qatar, making their maiden appearance at the continental showpiece, will now take on Kazakhstan tomorrow for a berth in a final.
At the Isa Bin Rashed Hall last morning, Qatar demonstrated superior form and coordination against China, who had reached the quarter-finals with a dominant record during the group stage.
Despite showing early signs of resilience, taking an early lead of 3-0 in the first set, China struggled to match Qatar’s strength as they took the first set.
The second set mirrored the first, with Qatar continuing their dominant performance. China tried to keep up with Qatar’s pace, leveling the score on multiple occasions earlier on, before the West Asians broke away to take 2-0 lead.
The third and final set was no different as China attempted to match Qatar’s prowess. They managed to level the scores on eight occasions this time but were eventually unable to match Qatar’s momentum as the set concluded with the same scoreline, 25-19 in favour of Al Annabi – capping off a 3-0 win in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
For Qatar’s next opponents, Kazakhstan, it was not an easy quarter-final clash.
In a gripping last-eight encounter yesterday afternoon, Kazakhstan overcame Australia in a four-set thriller with scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-18, and 25-21.
Australia took an early lead, winning the first set 25-21. Kazakhstan then began their comeback charge and managed to edge out Australia with a close 25-23 win to make it one-all. Thereafter, despite Australia’s resilience, the momentum shifted towards Kazakhstan as the Central Asian team clinched the next two sets with scores of 25-18 and 25-21, in a match that lasted 1 hour and 47 minutes.
Qatar and Kazakhstan will now meet in the semi-final at 4:30 pm tomorrow.