Kazakhstan's volleyball players lost a tense match for second place in Group A 1:3 (25:22, 23:25, 17:25, 20:25) to Bahrain at the Asian Nations Cup being held in India. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

The tournament hosts, having won all four matches, have secured first place in Group A. Kazakhstan and Bahrain were battling for second place and a spot in the semifinals.

The match was a seesaw affair. In the first set at 20:20, the Kazakh team made a decisive push to win 25:22. In the second set, Bahrain turned the tables at 20:20, winning 25:23.

In the third set, Sergei Trikoz's team played poorly at the end, losing 17:25. The fourth set also started shakily for Kazakhstan, but they managed to catch up at 20:20. After that, the Kazakhs lost five consecutive points, losing 20:25. A bitter defeat against an equal opponent.

Team leader Vladislav Mastikhin scored 27 points in the match. Azamat Seilkhanov had 13, and Aibek Zhaksylykov added 12.

Tomorrow, June 26, the team will play their final group match against New Zealand. Unfortunately, even a win will not help Kazakhstan reach the semifinals.

Asian Nations Cup 2026 Men's Volleyball, Group A results

  • 01Bahrain vs. Chinese Taipei 3:1
  • 02India vs. New Zealand 3:0
  • 03Australia vs. Chinese Taipei 1:3
  • 04New Zealand vs. Bahrain 0:3
  • 05India vs. Kazakhstan 3:0
  • 06Australia vs. Kazakhstan 2:3
  • 07India vs. Chinese Taipei 3:1
  • 08New Zealand vs. Australia 3:2
  • 09Chinese Taipei vs. Kazakhstan 1:3
  • 10India vs. Bahrain 3:0
  • 11Chinese Taipei vs. New Zealand 3:0
  • 12Bahrain vs. Kazakhstan 3:1

Group B results

  • 01Qatar vs. Oman 2:3
  • 02South Korea vs. Thailand 2:3
  • 03Qatar vs. Thailand 3:0
  • 04South Korea vs. Indonesia 3:0
  • 05Oman vs. Thailand 1:3
  • 06Qatar vs. Indonesia 2:3
  • 07Indonesia vs. Thailand 3:2
  • 08Oman vs. Korea 2:3

In the parallel group, South Korea leads. At least three teams are vying for second place and a semifinal berth.

The Asia-Pacific Nations Cup, formerly known as the Challenge Cup, is being held for the fifth time. The twelve teams were divided into two groups of six during the draw, but Turkmenistan withdrew at the last moment.

After a single round-robin tournament, the top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals. The remaining teams will compete for places 5th through 11th. The tournament concludes on June 28.