ISLAMABAD: Qatar defeated Pakistan in a one-sided contest to win the Asia Volleyball Confederation (AVC) championship on Sunday in Bahrain’s Isa Town, beating their opponents comprehensively by a score of 25-22, 25-20, 25-19. 

Over two thousand spectators packed the venue in Isa Town as Pakistan and Qatar went head-to-head for the final of the AVC cup. The win meant Qatar, who had already picked up silver at the 2023 FVB Challenger Cup last year, won the AVC championship for the first time. 

World No.47 Pakistan, who captured the recent CAVA Nations League last month in Islamabad, stormed into the showdown undefeated as they brushed off Kazakhstan 3-0 and Thailand 3-0 in the pool round-robin preliminaries to top Pool B. The Pakistani team continued their unbeaten streak after beating Vietnam in nail-biting 3-2 quarterfinal clash and outplaying Korea 3-1 in the semifinals. 

“Mighty Qatar stamped their domination over the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup after demolishing Pakistan in an electrifying final showdown which wrapped up an exciting week of topflight competition at the Isa Town Sport City Hall C here on Sunday,” the AVC said in a post on its website. 

Qatar’s road to the trophy began on a sour note when it lost 2-3 against Korea. However, they bounced back to win three successive matches against Indonesia in Pool C, China in the quarterfinals and Kazakhstan in the semifinals with scores of 3-0, 3-0 and 3-1 respectively.

Conceding two sets in a row, Pakistan, spearheaded by Murad Khan and Murad Jehan, hit back in the third set, hoping for a comeback. However, their determined effort was denied as the impressive Qataris stayed in control. 

lmal Khan fired a sharp spike to help Pakistan trail close 18-23, but a service error from Muhammad Hamad handed Qatar the match point 24-18. The Qataris allowed the rivals one more point from Musawer Khan’s lightning fast spike before Ibrahim Ibrahim ended the rivals’ challenge with his powerful attack at the frontline. Qatar captured the set 25-19, match and the eventual title.