Pakistan go down against Qatar in AVC Challenge Cup final

LAHORE: Pakistan senior men’s volleyball team on late Sunday night lost to Qatar 3-0 in the final and had to content with silver medal in the AVC Challenge Cup in Isa Town, Bahrain.

It was a tough game as Pakistan offered hard resistance to strong Qatar. Qatar, however, handled the things with more discipline and sealed a fine title win in the end.

The set score was 25-22, 25-20 and 25-19 in favour of Qatar.

Musawar Khan was declared as the best middle blocker while Nasir Ali achieved the award of best libero and Murad Khan getting the award of best opposite hitter.

“These awards highlight the exceptional talent and hard work of the players, contributing to Pakistan’s overall success in the competition,” Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) said in a statement.

“The PVF extends its heartfelt gratitude to the local Pakistani community in Bahrain for their unwavering support and enthusiasm throughout the tournament.

The presence of Saqib, Ambassador of Pakistan to Bahrain, at the final match was a significant morale booster for the team, reflecting the strong support from the diplomatic mission,” the PVF said. Pakistan lost only one game, the final, in the entire event.

Pakistan had topped their group by beating Kazakhstan and holders Thailand quite convincingly.

The Green-shirts then downed Vietnam in the quarter-finals and in the semi-final they conquered strong South Korea 3-1 to carve a niche in the decider against Qatar.

Before this event Pakistan won the Central Asian Volleyball League at Pakistan and also defeated

Australia in their home series which was held just before the Bahrain’s Challenge Cup.