Volleyball: Unbeaten Pakistan ease into 2nd round

Volleyball team beats Thailand at Asian Championship.

KARACHI: Pakistan eased into the second round of the Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship after defeating Thailand 3-0 and overcoming Kazakhstan 3-2 earlier in the tournament taking place in Iran.

Pakistan lost the first set 25-20 against Kazakhstan before winning the next two 25-21 to take the lead. The sea-saw match continued with Kazakhstan clinching the fourth set 25-20 before Pakistan won the tie-break 15-11 to seal the win.

The match against Japan also gave them anxious moments before Pakistan prevailed 3-1. After winning the first set 25-20, Pakistan stumbled in the next two sets 28-16, 25-21 as Japan led 2-1. However, Pakistan took the fourth set 25-16 before winning the tie-break 15-5.

According to coach Mazhar Hussain, Pakistan will need to work harder since they will be up against stronger teams in the second round.

“I have told my players that the results in the first round are encouraging,” Hussain told The Express Tribune. “But we need to work harder. We’ve had two matches where we it got close. We need to work on that.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th,  2011.