QATAR’S AL RAYYAN POWER PAST AL-KUWAIT IN FINAL REMATCH TO RETAIN WEST ASIAN MEN’S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

In-form Al Rayyan from Qatar captured the West Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship for two times in a row after sweeping Al-Kuwait of Kuwait in straight sets in the final showdown at the Sohar Sports Complex Hall in the Sultanate of Oman on Sunday.

Al Rayyan celebrating their victory

Al Rayyan, which picked up historic silver in the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship in Brazil to their name, successfully defended their title they had claimed in the inaugural championship in Jordanian capital city Amman last year following their 3-0 win in the final clash.

Al-Kuwait

In a final rematch against the same rivals on Sunday, Al Rayyan pulled off an exceptional 25-18, 25-22, 25-13 victory, as they presented an outstanding level across the three rounds.

Al Rayyan and Al-Kuwait qualified for the final after their solid performances in the semifinals, with the former beating Al-Ahly of Bahrain 3-1 and the former overcoming a strong challenge from Al-Arabi club to narrowly defeat the Qatari side 3-2.

Al-Arabi

Al-Arabi had to be content with bronze medal after a struggling battle against Al-Ahly to beat the Bahraini side 3-2 (25-18, 25-16, 23-25, 23-25,15-11) in a highly-anticipated third-place playoff.

A total of 10 clubs participated in the second edition of the tournament. They comprised Sohar and Al-Seeb (Oman), Al-Rayyan and Al-Arabi (Qatar), Al-Kuwait and Al-Qadisiyah (Kuwait), Baniyas (UAE), Al-Ahly (Bahrain), Al-Ibtisam (Saudi Arabia) and Shabab Al-Hussein (Jordan).