Challenger Cup: in semifinals, Qatar will face Chile and Türkiye challenges Ukraine in Doha

2 min read

28 July 2023 Ivan

In the eagerly anticipated Volleyball Challenger Cup 2023, hosts Qatar will face Chile, while Europe’s Türkiye and Ukraine will face off in Doha on Saturday.
The winner of the tournament will secure a place in 2024 Volleyball Nations League.

In first game of the day Chile, having defeated Tunisia with a straight set of 3-0 (25:19, 25:23, 25:23), was the first team to advance to the semi-finals.
The absolute man of the match was Vicente Parraguirre, who achieved a match high of 33 points through 60% in attack for the winners, while Tunisia’s top scorer was Oussama Ben Romdhane with 12 points.

Making its Challenger Cup debut, Ukraine also advanced to the semi-finals by beating last-placed in 2023 VNL China with a 3-1 (25:19, 25:22, 23:25, 25:19) victory.
Ukraine’s captain Oleh Plotnytskyi, scored a match-high 24 points, while opposite Vasyl Tupchii also contributed with 18.
China’s outside hitters Yu Yuantai and Zhang Jingyin scored 16 and 15 points respectively.

In a clash against Thailand, hosts Qatar secured a hard-fought straight-set victory, winning 3-0 (26:24, 25:23, 26:24).
The top scorer of the match was Thailand’s Napadet Bhinijdee with 23 points while, among the winners, the most prolific players were Raimi Wadidie with 16 points, Ribeiro Renan with 12, and Youssef Oughlaf, who added another 11.

Close the picture Türkiye, the previous year’s finalists, who secured a spot in the semi-finals for the third time in a row by winning 3-1 (25:20, 25:17, 24:26, 25:19) against the Dominican Republic.
The match’s top scorer was Henry Tapia Santana from the Dominican Republic with 24 points while, close behind, were two of Türkiye’s players: Adis Lagumdzija with 21 points and Efe Bayram with 20.