Sport | Other Sports
Bahrain emerge champions in volleyball
Bahrain clinched the Gulf Cup volleyball title after beating UAE 3-0 (28-26, 25-20 and 25-20) in the last match held at the Al Jazira indoor sports hall in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night.
- By Sayed Ali, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:36 May 3, 2009
- Image Credit: Reuters
- Shaikh Fawaz (left) with Bahraini team captain Hesham Dawood.
Dubai: Bahrain clinched the Gulf Cup volleyball title after beating UAE 3-0 (28-26, 25-20 and 25-20) in the last match held at the Al Jazira indoor sports hall in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night.
Bahrain won the title on sets difference after they were tied with Oman on seven points. Oman finished second and won the silver medal. They beat Qatar 3-1 in a match held on the same day (25-21, 5-25, 25-22, 25-22).
Kuwait finished third and clinched the bronze medal. Qatar were fourth, while hosts UAE took the fifth and last place, having lost all their four matches.
Saudi Arabia did not take part in the event.
Shaikh Fawaz Bin Mohammad Al Khalifa, President of the General Establishment for Youth and Sport in Bahrain, Ebrahim Abdul Malek, Secretary General of UAE's General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, and Mohammad Jalfar, UAE Volleyball Association board chairman, attended the final and presented the winners' trophy and the medals to the teams.
"It's an excellent achievement to win the volleyball gold medal in the Gulf Cup tournament. This is the first time that we have won it, after having finished second in the 17th Gulf Cup held in Qatar in 2004," said Mohammad Qazim, the Bahrain team manager after they received their gold medals.
It was a big disappointment for defending champions Qatar who failed to win a medal and finished in the fourth place, losing three matches and winning only one.
The most developed team in the tournament were Oman. However, they had to be content with a silver medal. They were equal on points with Bahrain, but the latter won the gold medal on sets difference.
Nasser Al Megbal, the Oman team assistant coach, said the fighting spirit of his players was the key behind beating Qatar and clinching the silver medal.
"Our football team's entry into the final motivated our spikers to beat Qatar - the fourth team in Asia. Our players' determination and firm resolve played a significant role in achieving this great success," said Al Megbal.
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