Argentina and Belgium book spots among best eight at Bahrain 2023
Triumphant Panya Bootsamrit of Thailand
Argentina and Belgium secured the top two spots in the Pool D final standings at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship in Bahrain as they achieved their second wins in Manama on Saturday to join Brazil and Italy from Pool B, and Poland and Bulgaria from Pool C into the top-eight tier for the second stage of the tournament. The two teams will meet head to head on Sunday for the top of the pool table. In Pool A, Thailand recorded their first win of the tournament by edging hosts Bahrain in five sets to leave the pool wide open ahead of Sunday’s third-leg matches, with all four teams holding shots at advancement, but none qualified just yet.
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Pool A
Tunisia’s Mahdi Ben Tahar and Walid Mokhtar Baccour on the block against the Iranian attack
Tunisia were well on their way to stunning Iran in the first Pool A match of the day. The Africans won the first two sets of their game against the bronze medallists of the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship, but the Asians mounted a big comeback to celebrate a 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-11) victory. Tunisia showed some great blocking and tallied 16 stuffs during the match, seven of which were authored by middle blocker Mahdi Ben Tahar. Iranian opposite Amir Mohammad Golzadeh, MVP of the 2022 U20 Asian Championship, fired four aces towards the match high of 28 points, while Khaled Bouallegue led Tunisia with 22.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=negOrOwCgTU
Thailand’s Chutiphong Muangkao on the block against Bahrain’s Ali Abdulwahab
Thailand and hosts Bahrain also engaged in a five-set battle. At the end of the first set, the Thais scored five points in a row at a triple Bahraini set point (24-21) to take the lead. The home team battled their way back in the next two sets to step in front, but Thailand leveled it back after a comfortable win in set four. After a tough tie-breaker, the boys from South East Asia could celebrate a 3-2 (26-24, 21-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-12) success. Thailand’s blocking (15 stuffs against six) made the big difference in the game. Their middle Chutiphong Muangkao excelled with five kill blocks towards a 12-point tally. Outside Jakkrit Thanomnoi led all scorers with 27 points, including two stuffs. He registered a 57% success rate in attack. Bahrain’s…
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