Qatar were primed for their crucial second stage clash against strong seven-time champions Japan at the Asian Volleyball Championship in Tehran on Monday. And the Gulf team players, continuing their dazzling game, turned in another memorable display to edge the giants in five sets to cause a major flutter.
Qatar, who defeated giants Australia and India in the preliminary rounds, controlled the proceedings well and clinched the opening two sets, which turned the heat on the Japanese, who have won the Asian crown seven times in 10 finals. The Japanese responded to the challenge admirably and clinched the next two sets to force the decider.
The Qatari team began strongly and took each point with utmost care. It was after the change-over that Qatar held an 8-7 edge and began piling more pressure on the opponents. After trailing 8-10, the Japanese caught up and twice equalised at 13 and 15. However, Qatar took two successive points and completed the historic 25 19 25 23 15 25 19 25 17 15.
The entire team played an incredible volleyball but opposite Rhaimi Wadidi deserved a special mention for being the hero of the win. He was particularly impressive and won crucial points with his spikes in the fifth tie-break set to make the win a reality.
This is the first time that Qatar have beaten the mighty Japanese and the result means Qatar have a bright chance of finishing second in the pool, which will pit them against the third-placed team from the Group E for a place in the semi-finals.
However, Qatar have another big hurdle to clear on Tuesday as they clash with former champions China, who have been quite dominant in the championships so far, dropping only one set in four victories. In another Group F match today, China edged Australia in straight sets by 25 23 25 21 26 24.
Qatar Team Head Mohamed Jassim al Kuwari poured praise on his players after the match.”They played wonderful volleyball against Japan. We were on the top in the first two sets. We knew that Japan would hit back and they also won two sets to force the tie-break set.
“In the fifth set, we were excellent and this kept Japan under pressure throughout and they finally cracked. Rhaimi was brilliant, especially in the last set and came up with fine smashes to lead Qatar to the historic triumph.
“We’ve had beaten Japan before and this victory would always be quite special for the team for long. Our next match is against China, which should be quite tough match again.
“Though we’ll try to continue to raise our level, we’ll play without pressure. With this victory, our position in the Group F has become quite strong with five points.
“If we finish second in the pool, we’ll face the third-placed team from the Group E, which is likely to be Thailand. We don’t want to think that far. Our priority is the match against China. We’ve to keep up our strong momentum going and we’ll think about the quarter-final match on the rest day (Wednesday),” added Kuwari.
In the Pool E matches, South Korea handed a 3-0 defeat to Chinese Taipei (25 15 25 20 25 17) and holders Iran also posted a fine 25 20 25 11 25 20 victory against Thailand to control the top two spots.
In the matches for the teams battling for ninth to 16th places, Kazakhstan beat Oman 25 22 25 23 20 25 25 17, Pakistan beat Kuwait 25 19 25 23 21 25 21 25 15 10, India beat Sri Lanka 25 17 25 22 25 20 and Bahrain beat Turkmenistan 29 27 25 17 25 22
Second stage results
(top eight teams)
South Korea beat Chinese Taipei 25 15 25 20 25 17
Iran beat Thailand 25 20 25 11 25 20
Qatar beat Japan 25 19 25 23 15 25 19 25 17 15
China beat Australia 25 23 25 21 26 24
9 to 16 teams results
Kazakhstan beat Oman 25 22 25 23 20 25 25 17
Pakistan beat Kuwait 25 19 25 23 21 25 21 25 15 10
India beat Sri Lanka 25 17 25 22 25 20
Bahrain beat Turkmenistan 29 27 25 17 25 22