Khaled Ali Al Mawlawi (fifth left), President of Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA), is seen along with Mohammed Ali Al Mohannadi (fourth right), QVA Secretary General, Yousuf Ahmed Kano, Assistant Secretary General (second left), Ahmed Shaibani, QVA Executive Director and Hussein Imam (right), QVA Technical Expert, and other officials of QVA during the Emir Cup Volleyball draw ceremony at Sharq Village in Doha. Pictures by: Abdul Basit
DOHA: Volleyball giants Al Rayyan and arch-rivals Al Sadd were yesterday placed in separate groups of the Emir Cup but the defending champions say they are confident of winning the biggest event in Qatar.
Al Rayyan, who finished runners-up at last month’s 2013 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, have been drawn together with Eljaish, Al Gharafa and Police in Group A.
In Group B, Al Sadd have Al Ahli, Al Arabi and Qatar SC for company.
Nasir Al Malki, the Assistant Manager of Al Rayyan, said: “Yes, this is a tough draw for us but let me tell you something, we are confident of winning this event.”
Al Malki added: “We have a strong bunch of players who did an amazing job last month (in the 2013 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship).”
The Al Rayyan official said: “We like tough competition. We want to take on strong sides. We have been playing well. I think this is not a tough group for us. It is tough for others.”
He explained: “We have had an amazing season so far. But we want to round things up with the Emir Cup trophy.”
Two days ago, Police toped Group A of the Emir Cup 2012-2013 season with a 3-1 win over Al Gharafa at the Al Arabi Sports Club.
The 25-15, 22-25, 25-18, 25-17 victory gave Police six points and a top spot in the group, Al Gharafa finished second with three points.
The qualifying teams were Al Sadd, Qatar SC, Police, Al Gharafa in addition to Al Rayyan, Al Ahli, Al Arabi and Eljaish.
The tournament starts on May 11 and runs until the 25th of this month.
The games will be held every other day with two fixtures scheduled every match day.
All games will be played at Al Arabi Sports Indoor Hall, Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) officials said yesterday.
QVA officials Khaled Ali Al Mawlawi (President), Mohammed Ali Al Mohannadi (Secretary General), Youssef Ahmed Kanu (Assistant Secretary General), Ali Ghanim Al Kuwari and Ali Al Fayahani (Board Members) were present during the draw ceremony held at Sharq Village.
The Peninsula
