Pakistan have failed to qualify for the U17 Volleyball World Cup after losing to Chinese Taipei 3-1 in the third-fourth place match in the Asian U16 Volleyball Championship in Uzbekistan on Saturday.
This was Pakistan’s second loss in the tournament.
After losing the semi-final against Uzbekistan, Pakistan had to beat Chinese Taipei to secure their place in U17 World Cup which will be played next year.
Chinese Taipei defeated Pakistan with the score line of 25-13, 18-25, 25-23 and 25-22.
With the victory, the Chinese qualified for the mega event next year.
Earlier in the semi-final, Uzbekistan defeated Pakistan 3-1 with the score line of 25-23, 17-25, 25-21 and 25-23.
The match was very close as both teams fought till the end and the margins of the hosts’ victory weren’t big.
That was Pakistan’s first defeat in the event after registering four consecutive victories against Chinese Taipei, Mongolia, Australia and Thailand.
Meanwhile, in the Super 8 round, Pakistan defeated Australia with a score line of 25-13, 25-19 and 25-14 and then recorded their fourth successive win after beating Thailand with the score line of 25-9, 25-16 and 25-19.
In the group stage, Pakistan defeated Mongolia 25-9, 25-17 and 25-13 and Chinese Taipei 5-15, 25-18 and 25-16.
It has to be mentioned that earlier this month, Iran beat Pakistan 3-2 to win the Central Asian U16 Volleyball Championship.
After an exciting contest, Iran won the final by the scores of 25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 21-25, and 15-11. The home side grabbed Gold after winning the final whereas Pakistan managed Silver.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.