Oman beach volleyball reach 2nd West Asia final
MUSCAT, MAY 10
Oman's national beach volleyball team, led by the duo Mazin al Hashmi and Hood al Jalbubi, continued their successful campaign in the West Asia Championship held in Doha, Qatar, after securing a well-deserved 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia to advance to the final.
The first set began with clear dominance from the Saudi team, who capitalised on Oman's early handling errors. Riyadh Ali opened the scoring with a precise drop shot, followed by three consecutive points amid Oman's defensive lapses, putting Saudi Arabia ahead 4-1.
However, the Omani duo didn't give up. Mazin and Hood gradually regained their rhythm with short plays and powerful serves that disrupted Saudi's reception. Mazin kept the pressure on with consecutive points, while Hood excelled at the net with a successful block, leveling the score at 8-8.
From that point on, Oman took full control of the set, exploiting Saudi's serving and receiving errors to extend their lead and close out the set 21-15.
In the second set, Oman started strong again with Mazin al Hashmi opening the scoring and continuing to add points through powerful serves, while Hood maintained his impressive performance to push the score to 4-1.
Saudi Arabia responded with three consecutive points to tie the set, but Oman regained the lead through Hood, who made it 6-5. The contest remained tight until Oman gradually widened the gap, with Mazin al Hashmi securing the final point to seal the set once again at 21-15.
Badr al Subhi, Oman's national beach volleyball coach, expressed his great joy at the team's qualification for the West Asia Championship final. He said, Congratulations to everyone on reaching the final. We are here to defend the title we won last year in Jordan, and we pray that the players succeed today in claiming the title once again.
He added, 'We entered this championship after the conclusion of the local league, placed in Group B alongside Bahrain. We managed to win and advance to the quarterfinals, where we defeated Qatar 2-1. We continued our journey successfully by beating Saudi Arabia in the semifinals.' The coach highlighted the team's noticeable improvement, saying, 'The team's performance is improving day by day, and the players' focus increases with every match. We hope to complete this journey by winning the title.' In conclusion, Al Subhi thanked the Oman Volleyball Association (OVA) for its support and stressed the importance of continuing to participate in regional, continental and international tournaments to improve the team's global ranking. He stated, 'The coming period requires more participation in Asian tours and world championships, because rankings are the key to entering major competitions. The better our ranking, the greater our chances of qualifying for global events.'
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