Qatar go down in thriller against South Korea

Doha, Qatar: Qatar went down fighting to South Korea in a gripping five setter in their Al Annabi s maiden AVC Asian Men s Volleyball Challenge Cup ap...

Doha, Qatar: Qatar went down fighting to South Korea in a gripping five-setter in their Al Annabi’s maiden AVC Asian Men’s Volleyball Challenge Cup appearance, in Isa Town, Bahrain, yesterday.

South Korea’s 3-2 (25-16, 19-25, 25-16, 22-25, 20-18) victory, which came after a two hours-14-minute affair that featured 211 rallies, propelled East Asians to the quarter-finals of the 12-team tournament.

They had beaten the other Group C counterparts Indonesia, on Sunday, meaning they will now join Pakistan and Australia, who also made it to the last-eight stage after securing straight-set wins yesterday.

Yesterday, South Korea took an early lead by winning the opening set with a convincing margin of 25-16 in 24 minutes. Qatar then made a strong comeback in the second set, winning 25-19 and leveling the score.

The third set mirrored the first, with South Korea making it 2-1 with a 25-16 win. Qatar managed to push the match to a fifth set by narrowly winning the fourth set 25-22.