Pakistan Advances to Final of Asian U16 Volleyball Championship

NAKHON PATHOM: Pakistan’s U16 volleyball team has continued its impressive performance at the Asian U16 Volleyball Championship, securing a spot in the final after a decisive 3-0 victory over India in the semi-final on Thursday.

The Pakistani team showcased their strength, winning the sets with scores of 25-16, 25-19, and 25-12. Pakistan demonstrated superiority over India in all aspects of the game, including attack, block, and service.

Muhammad Junaid emerged as the top scorer with 19 points, including 11 attack points. Faizanullah contributed 12 points, while Talha Maher and Irfan added seven points each to the score.

Pakistan’s dominance was clear in the stats. They achieved 37 attack points compared to India’s 25, excelled at the net with 13 block points against India’s 4, and slightly surpassed their opponents with 5 service points to 4.

With this triumph, Pakistan has earned their place in the final against Iran, scheduled for July 19 at the same venue.

Notably, the Pakistani squad has previously defeated Iran in the crossover round with a 3-1 victory. The intense match extended over two hours, with set scores of 25-23, 25-19, 22-25, and 31-29.

Pakistan’s journey to the final has been remarkable. They began their campaign with a 3-0 victory against South Korea (25-16, 25-19, 25-8), followed by a dominant showing against Saudi Arabia (25-14, 25-13, 25-11).

In their third match, they continued their winning streak by defeating Chinese Taipei in straight sets (26-24, 25-14, 25-16).

The squad extended their undefeated streak in the first crossover round by securing a 3-0 win over Indonesia.

After falling behind 3-12 in the first set, they displayed resilience to win the set 25-23, and continued to win the next two with scores of 25-20 and 25-20. Junaid once again led the scoring with 15 points, with Faizanullah adding 11.

The Asian Volleyball Confederation is organizing the tournament, which is being hosted in Nakhon Pathom and Ratchaburi, Thailand. Sixteen teams are competing, divided into four pools.