JEDDAH: The military team did Saudi Arabia proud in the international competition when they won the 29th World Military Volleyball Championship title in Germany.
Ignored by the foreign press being rookies in the tournament, the Saudi team silenced the doubters as they stunned fancied Greece in four sets 25-21, 13-25, 25-21, 25-20 in the final of the competition at the Bundeswehr Sports School yesterday in Warendorf, Germany.
“It’s our first time to participate in this World Cup and it is definitely not the last,” said team member Yassir Al-Makawni over the phone from Germany
“I can’t say anything else. We are too tired, and too happy and glad we pleased our Saudi fans and delivered this victory,” he added.
His teammate and setter Ahmed Al-Bakhet said, “Thank God for this victory and thanks to the support of our Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the German supporters who showed great interest in our matches even though we defeated them.”
Another player, Naif Al-Buhassoun, said, “The feeling is overwhelming. Greece was a very tough competitor though we beat them previously in round one. This time it got even stronger especially in the second set when they advanced, but we managed to win and that is the most important thing.” The team, most of them part of the Saudi national team that placed 3rd at the 2006 Asian Games, will be back home tomorrow.
The event that ran from June 20 to 28 attracted 15 teams namely Pakistan, Qatar, Finland and Brazil in Group A, defending champions South Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Netherlands, and Cyprus in Group B, Saudi Arabia, Germany, United States, and Greece in Group C , and China, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania and Canada in Group D.
The undefeated Saudis mowed down the opposition on their way to the final. In round one, they outlasted Germany 3-2 in the opening match on June 21, and then beat the US 3-0 and Greece 3-0. In round two the Saudis beat their only Arab rivals in the event Qatar 3-0, as well as Netherlands 3-0 and China 3-2. China beat Brazil 3-1 in the playoff for 3rd and 4th places. In the other classification matches, South Korea downed beat Qatar 3-0 to take fifth place and Romania whipped Netherlands 3-0 for seventh place.
China retained the women’s title in the tournament, beating Germany 3-0 in the final. Third place went to Italy after they beat Netherlands 3-0, and fifth place to the US team that defeated Canada 3-0.
