VOLLEYBALL – BAHRAIN’S Al Ahli and Dar Kulaib are all set to begin their title bids in the fourth Wava Men’s Clubs Volleyball Championship, which gets underway today in Kuwait City.
The West Asia Volleyball Association (Wava) tournament features 11 of the top volleyball teams from across the region.
Ahli are returning to compete after claiming the bronze medals in last year’s event, which was hosted by the kingdom. They are playing in Group B of the preliminary round alongside Club Jeunesse Sportif (CJS) Batroun from Lebanon, Al Wakrah SC from Qatar, and hosts Kuwait SC from Kuwait.
Dar Kulaib are in Group C with Ittihad Club from Saudi Arabia, Al Seeb from Oman, and Burgan SC from Kuwait. Group A features defending champions Al Rayyan from Qatar, Majees SC from Oman, and South Gas Sports Club from Iraq.
Ahli will be first on the court today when they face Wakrah at 4pm, while Dar Kulaib begin their campaign tomorrow against Seeb at 2pm.
“We had our first practice in Kuwait today to make some activation for what we have tomorrow in our first game,” Dar Kulaib head coach Ivan Joksimovic from Montenegro said yesterday after beginning their final preparations in Kuwait City.
“I think we are ready for the first step and our first match, and today, the most important thing was that the players touched the ball and we practised seriously for what we have tomorrow.
“Everyone is ready and all the players are really motivated to give good work to give the highest performance.
“This tournament is very strong, with the best teams from this region. It will be a big challenge for us against everyone.”
Dar Kulaib’s Kenyan professional Enock Mogeni added: “I like the preparations of the team. For us, the match starts in training – the way we approach training, the way we fight in training, gives us the best results.
“I think we prepared very well and we have great motivation to win. We believe in teamwork and also in our tactics from our coach. Everything is good, and we train every day as if it is game day.
“In this competition, everybody is coming to win and every team is coming for the championship. I expect most teams to be on the same level, good top teams, and at the same time we expect to be among them and to give the best results
“Everyone is coming for one mission – just to win. We are ready and we will do our best.”
Following a single round-robin, the top two teams from each of the three pools move on to the knockout quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed teams. The elite eight will be held on February 10.
The semis are then set for February 12, which will then set the stage for the gold and bronze medal contests on the championship’s concluding day on February 14. Classification matches to determine the rest of the final rankings will also be held over the concluding week on February 11 and 13.
Ahli, coached by Renato Castro from Brazil, boast a formidable line-up that includes a number of current and former Bahrain’s senior men’s national team players, including Ali Ebrahim, Mohammed Anan, Sayed Mohammed Alabbar, Mahmood Abdulhussain, Hani Alawi, Hasan Haider, Ayman Harwana, Hussain Mansoor, and Hussain Sultan, among others.
Ahli take on CJS Batroun on Friday at 2pm then complete their Group B schedule against Kuwait SC on Sunday at 6pm.
Dar Kulaib also boast a strong roster, with Hasan Alwarqaa, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Abbas Abdulla, Ali Habib, and Hassan Alaiwi leading their charge, to name a few.
Following their opening fixture tomorrow, they take on Burgan on Saturday at 4pm. They then wrap up their preliminary round campaign Sunday against Ittihad at 2pm. All times are Bahrain.
Both Ahli and Dar Kulaib have extensive experience competing in Wava’s premier senior men’s tournament. Ahli are competing for the third straight edition. In 2024, they narrowly missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish.
In the inaugural event in 2023, Jordan, Dar Kulaib were the Bahraini representatives, when they too came up one spot shy of the podium.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh