Team Qatar fall to China at Asian Youth Games

alt
October 19, 2025
volleyball
feed type icon
19-October-2025

Team Qatar fall to China at Asian Youth Games

Manama: Team Qatar’s youth volleyball squad opened its campaign at the 3rd Asian Youth Games Bahrain 2025 with a 3–1 loss to China in their Group B encounter on Saturday. The match marked the start of Qatar’s participation in the tournament, which officially opens on October 22 and runs until October 31, featuring Asia’s top young athletes competing across 26 sports.

China took the first set 25–17, but Qatar responded strongly to win the second 25–20. However, the Chinese side regained control to close out the match 25–22 and 25–16. Despite the defeat, Team Qatar showed solid teamwork and resilience against one of the tournament’s strongest contenders. The team will next face Iran in its second group-stage match on Tuesday.

The men’s volleyball competition features 11 teams divided into four groups. Group A includes Bahrain, Pakistan, and Mongolia; Group B brings together Qatar, Iran, and China; Group C features Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia; while Group D includes Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Meanwhile, beach volleyball action is set to begin tomorrow, with Qatar’s men’s duo Ahmed Ziyad and Moussa Al-Khair facing the Maldives, while the women’s pair Celine Mahmoud and Sewar Al-Asal will play against Kazakhstan.

The Asian Youth Games, hosted by Bahrain for the first time, bring together over 5,000 athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees competing across 253 events. The Games also serve as a qualifier for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.

Qatar’s 67-athlete delegation is competing in 16 sports, including athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, equestrian, golf, judo, jiu-jitsu, cycling, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, wrestling, volleyball, beach volleyball, and boxing. Female athletes are representing Qatar in four of these disciplines: athletics, badminton, volleyball, and beach volleyball.

Qatari teams aim to deliver strong performances and build on the nation’s proud record in previous editions. Qatar earned two silver medals in athletics at the inaugural Singapore 2009 Asian Youth Games, and three medals (one gold in handball and two silvers in shooting) at the Nanjing 2013 edition. The participation in Bahrain marks another important step in preparing young Qatari athletes for the Doha 2030 Asian Games.