Special welcome back for volleyball Bahraini team

Bahrain's junior volleyball and national table tennis teams yesterday . were given a warm welcome on return from their respective competitions held recently. The under-17 volleyball team was crowned champions of the GCC Championship in Riyadh where they clinched victories in all their five matches. In this single round robin event, the Bahrainis proved the strongest side in the tournament as they never lost a game, and they capped it with a straight set 3-0 victory over hosts Saudi Arabia in the deciding game on the concluding day. The volleyball team were received on arrival by high-ranking sports officials, including Bahrain Olympic Committee's women's committee chairwoman Shaikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa and Bahrain Volleyball Association president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa. Early on, the table tennis delegation had a similar reception ceremony as they returned from Jeddah where they notched five medals in total, including two gold, two silver and one bronze. Bahrain's medals were won by Rashid Sanad in the junior singles event, while the quartet of Rashid Sanad, Loay Jamal, Elyas Elyasi and Yousif Al Buflasa bagged the team contest trophy. The under-18 team of Rashid Sanad and Hussain Al Ojaini later won the silver medal in the doubles section, then the men's team of Hamad Buhiji, Anwar Makki, Hussain Al Hashmi, Mohamed Al Bushlaibi and Ali Radi took the senior section team event bronze. Bahrain Olympic Committee financial and administrative executive director Jehad Khalfan honoured the team members as he praised their achievement. The team was also welcomed by Shaikha Hayat, who is also president of the Bahrain Table Tennis Association, who congratulated delegation head Ebrahim Siyadi and the remaining members of the team on their outstanding results. On his part, Khalfan congratulated Shaikha Hayat on what the team has achieved in Jeddah, where some of the region's best table tennis players were in the fray. He also praised the performance of the players in this competition and expressed confidence in their ability to continue these impressive results. Source: BNA