Pakistan booked their place in Tuesday’s AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup gold-medal match with a straight-sets semifinal win over defending champions Qatar in Manama on Monday. The sweep set up a title showdown against hosts Bahrain, who survived a five-set battle with Korea in the day’s second semifinal.
The final is scheduled for 19:00 local time (16:00 UTC), with Qatar and Korea set to meet earlier for the bronze medal at 15:00 (12:00). The tournament is streamed live and available on demand on VBTV.
Pakistan dethrone Qatar with convincing semifinal sweep
The opening semifinal was a rematch of last year’s AVC Challenge Cup final, and Pakistan delivered a decisive response, sweeping Qatar to “dethrone” the reigning champions and move one win away from the inaugural AVC Men’s Nations Cup title.
Outside hitter Usman Faryad Ali led Pakistan’s scoring with 18 points, including one kill block. He was backed by fellow outside hitter and team captain Murad Jehan, who added 16 points, all coming from swings.
For Qatar, Raimi Wadidie was the leading scorer with 14 points, while opposite Youssef Oughlaf contributed 11. Despite those efforts, Pakistan controlled the semifinal in straight sets to secure their spot in the final against the home side.
Bahrain outlast Korea in five after two-set lead slips
The second semifinal produced a “spectacular five-set battle” as Bahrain and Korea traded momentum across a long match. Bahrain moved in front by two sets, but Korea responded to level the contest and force a tie-breaker.
Korea’s comeback fell just short of a full turnaround, as Bahrain claimed the deciding set to complete the victory and earn a place in the gold-medal match on home court.
Bahrain’s outside hitter Mohamed Abdulla Yaqoob topped all scorers with 19 points, a total that included three aces and two kill blocks. Opposite Ali Khamis Ebrahim finished with 16 points, while outside hitter and captain Naser Anan added 14.
Bahrain also received double-digit contributions from their middle blockers, with Hasan Warqaa Ali and Mohamed Abdulla scoring 10 points each.
For Korea, opposite Hojin Shin led his team with 18 points. Outside hitters Jihan Kim and Subong Heo followed closely with 17 and 16 points, respectively, as Korea pushed Bahrain all the way to the tie-breaker before settling for a bronze-medal match.
What’s next: medals and placement matches in Manama
With the finalists confirmed, Tuesday’s schedule features three matches. Qatar and Korea will contest the bronze medal at 15:00 local time (12:00 UTC), before Pakistan and Bahrain meet for gold at 19:00 (16:00 UTC). Earlier, the Philippines and New Zealand are set to play at 12:00 (09:00) in a match for 10th place.
Elsewhere in the final standings, places from fifth to ninth were already decided over the previous days. On Monday, Australia recorded a straight-sets win over Indonesia in the fifth-place match, while Chinese Taipei defeated Vietnam to take seventh. Thailand concluded their tournament on Sunday with a second consecutive straight-sets win in the three-team race for ninth, this time beating New Zealand.
Now, the focus turns to the championship match, where Pakistan’s sweep over Qatar has earned them a shot at the title against Bahrain, who arrive in the final after navigating a five-set semifinal test against Korea.