Men's U21 World Championship 2023

Hosts Bahrain storm U21 World Champs with straight-set win

Iran, Argentina and Belgium also victorious in their opening matches in Pools A and D

Published 06:57, 07 Jul 2023

Tunisia (TUN) vs. Bahrain (BRN) men - Pool A #5652407

Bahrain’s players rejoice

Action in Pools A and D at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's U21 World Championship in Bahrain started off with wins for the home team, Iran, Argentina and Belgium in Manama on Friday.

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Pool A

Somehow, Thailand managed to recover from a 25-5 blowout in their first set against Iran and levelled the match. The bronze medallists of the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship regained control in the next two to claim a 3-1 (25-5, 23-25, 25-13, 25-21) victory. Opposite Amir Mohammad Golzadeh, MVP of the 2022 U20 Asian Championship, and outside hitter Younes Javan Bonehgaz (five kill blocks) shared the top scorer honours with 16 points apiece, while Thailand’s outside Jakkrit Thanomnoi finished with 15.

Iran’s Shayan Sepehri Fard and Younes Javan Bonehgaz celebrate

“Congratulations to both teams. It is difficult at the beginning of a tournament. Playing against East Asian teams is difficult because they play differently,” said Iran’s head coach Gholamreza Momenimoghaddam. “We didn’t have any information about the Thai team, so we had to analyze it during the game and we tried to inform our players during the game. They played very well in defence, but we were better in blocking. I know there are many good teams here like Poland, Brazil, Bulgaria and others. We’re going to try and give our best to reach our goal and get the gold medal.”

Tournament hosts Bahrain pleased the home crowd with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-22) sweep of their first match against Tunisia. Led by their opposite and captain Husain Ehsan, Bahrain dominated almost throughout the match. Ehsan was the best scorer of the game. He spiked at a 55% success rate to deliver 15 points in offence. He also added two kill blocks and an ace to his tally to top the charts with 18 points. Outside hitter Sayed Hashem Ali added 11 points, including one ace, while Tunisia’s opposite Khaled Bouallegue finished with 13 points (also one ace).

Pool D

Argentina’s German Gomez and Imanol Salazar on the block

Dominating almost throughout the match, Argentina started their Bahrain 2023 campaign with a comfortable 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-23) shutout of United States. Their opposite German Gomez, a 2022 South American U21 Championship Dream Teamer, served two aces towards a 16-point match high. He spiked at a 67% success rate to spearhead Argentina’s offence towards victory. USA’s opposite Trenton Moser, with 10 points, was the only other player to reach the double digits in the match.

Czech Republic (CZE) vs. Belgium (BEL) men - Pool D #5652450

Belgium’s Ferre Reggers rejoices

Belgium also went through their first opponents in straight sets. The last match of the day in Manama featured an all-European clash, in which the Belgians mastered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-22) clean slate against Czechia. However, it was not as straight-forward as the final score may suggest. The Czechs stormed the first set on a 5-1 run and the second on a 3-0 run, but failed to hold on to their early leads, thanks mostly to too many unforced errors. Belgium’s outside hitter and captain Ferre Reggers, the best scorer of the U19 World Championship in 2021, was also the best scorer of the match against Czechia. He produced a match-high 13 points, including a kill block. His cross-court teammate Sietse De Bruyn and Czech counterpart Jiri Benda finished with 10 points each.