Qatar's Youssef Oughlaf smashes the ball during the match against Australia.
DOHA: Defending champions Qatar produced a commanding performance to defeat Australia 3-0 in their final Pool B match of the 2025 AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup at Isa Bin Rashid Hall in Manama, Bahrain, yesterday.
Led by head coach Camilo Soto, Qatar dominated proceedings from start to finish, sealing the straight-sets victory with scores of 25-22, 25-21, and 25-22.
Wadidi Raimi led Qatar’s charge with an impressive 14 points, emerging as the top scorer of the match. Mohamed Ibrahim also delivered a strong performance, contributing 10 crucial points to the victory.
This was Qatar’s first appearance in the tournament, after their opening match was cancelled due to Kazakhstan’s withdrawal from the rebranded event previously known as the Asian Challenge Cup.
The cancellation meant both Qatar and Australia advanced to the quarter-finals without playing a match prior to their clash.
Qatar, who clinched the title last year after a memorable win over Pakistan in the final, will now face Vietnam in the quarter-finals. All last-eight fixtures are set to take place tomorrow.
Vietnam qualified as runners-up from Pool D after falling to South Korea 3-0 in their final league match yesterday. As a result, South Korea will face Australia in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, hosts Bahrain continued their strong form by sweeping Indonesia 3-0 (25-13, 27-25, 25-22) to finish top of Pool A with back-to-back victories. They will meet Chinese Taipei in the knockout stage.
Last year’s finalists Pakistan also topped their group, edging Chinese Taipei 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 16-25, 15-10) in a thrilling five-set encounter in Pool C. They will now take on Indonesia for a spot in the semi-finals.
The semi-finals are scheduled for June 23, with the championship match set to take place the following day. In addition to the prestigious title, valuable world ranking points are also up for grabs in the tournament.
