Qatar finishes off with 4-0 on opening day of AVC Continental Beach Volleyball Tournament
The AVC Continental Beach Volleyball Western Zonal Tournament got the green light this past Saturday, November 19 in Ajman, UAE. A total of 12 men’s teams from six countries joined the zonal competition. The race is on for the top three positions in the
tournament. Successful teams from the Western Zonal competition will represent the zone in the 2010-12 Continental Beach Volleyball Cup finals in New Zealand, scheduled next year.
The opening day of AVC Continental Beach Volleyball Western Zonal Tournament featured teams from Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain. The Ajman Beach in Ajman, UAE set the back drop for the matches. Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain emerged as successful teams
on the first day of tournament.
The defending Gulf champions, Oman, was challenged by Iraqi tandems, while Qatar played with Kuwait. In similar fashion, Bahrain took on hosts UAE. The Bahraini and Qatari proved to be better in their matches and clinched success. Each winning side had
the identical score of 4-0.
Qatar played with two pairs who worked out great results. Earlier in the morning, the duo of Asif Sultan and Tareq Abdul Habib posted 2-0 (21-15, 21-10) win over Kuwait’s Abdulaziz Dashti and Abdul Rahman Al Asaaf. The Qatart 2 team, which consisted of Mahmoud
Azzam and Abdulaziz Khallouf, followed the winning route set by their country-mates and held off Kuwait 2 for 2-0 (21-15, 21-15). Sultan Abdul Majeed and Ahmad Al Shayej of Kuwait 2 put up good effort but could not achieve desired results.
Later in the evening, the two Qatari teams finished off the day with a well earned result. Qatar 1 defeated Kuwait 2, while Qatar 2 overpowered Kuwait 1. At the end of the day, Qatar remained without any loss and compiled an overall result of 4-0.
After making a winning start in the campaign, the players from Qatar are now prepared to take on other competitors of the tournament. In this connection, Tareq Abdul Habib of Qatar stated: “Our main opponents will be Oman and Bahrain. No opponent can be
taken lightly, but as per recent form I think Bahrain and Oman are among the strong contenders that we will have to be wary of.”
As per the set formula of Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), athletes from various Asian and Oceania nations and regions will take part in the 2010-12 Continental Beach Volleyball Cup. Around 41 members including Macau and Northern Mariana Island (non-IOC
members) have been registered for the competition.
Top three teams from each zonal competition will get the chance to play at the continental championship, which is scheduled to be held in New Zealand from February 16-19, next year. So far, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam have qualified for the competition
due to their exceptional performance at the Southern Zonal Tournament. The on-going Western Zonal Tournament will also send three teams in the Continental Beach Volleyball Cup in New Zealand.
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