Pakistan thrash Iraq to end losing streak

KARACHI: Pakistan finally ended their pathetic run in the Asian Volleyball Championship on Wednesday when they defeated Iraq 3-1 in their last Group B outing in Surabaya, Indonesia.

After losing their initial two games against Chinese Taipei and Iran, Pakistan finally kept their prestige when they overwhelmed Iraq with an enviable ease to finish third in the four-team group. Pakistan, in the classification round, will now face Hong Kong on Thursday (today), followed by a game against Thailand on Saturday.

After lifting the first two sets 26-24, 25-17, Iraq gave tough time to the Green-shirts as they won the thirdz set 25-17 to reduce the deficit. However Pakistan regained their momentum in the fourth set and won it 25-22 to seal a comfortable win.“It was a high quality match,” Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) said in a statement after the outing.

“Aimal Khan, Murad Jehan and Nasir played outstanding game. Aimal lunched powerful attacks and blocked very well whereas Murad Jehan also played aggressively. Nasir did well for the team with a lot of confidence,” the PVF said.

“Mubashir Raza also had a big share in the victory with good attacking display. Had Pakistan played in the same manner against Iran and Chinese Taipei then Pakistan would have qualified for the quarter-finals,” the PVF said.

Pakistan had finished tenth in the previous edition of the continental event. As many as 16 outfits are featuring in the competitions.Meanwhile in the other Group B last round outing on Wednesday, Iran edged past Chinese Taipei 3-0 to finish as group champions.

In Group A matches, Kazakhstan crushed Saudi Arabia 3-0, their third straight win, that enabled them to finish as group champions. Indonesia, in the same group, snatched a 3-2 win from Qatar to end as group runners-up.

In Group C last round meetings, Thailand defeated Hong Kong 3-1 to end third in their group, while Australia whacked China 3-0 to end as group leaders with three wins. Both Aussies and Chinese are in quarter-finals.