ISLAMABAD, June 8: Kazakhstan’s Rahat claimed the Asian Club Volleyball Championship crown with a straight-set victory over Thailand’s Samsom at the Liaquat Gymnasium on Wednesday. Rahat, who won 25-15, 25-21, 25-14, finished with 11 points, the same as Iran, but were declared champions by virtue of having won more sets.

China’s Shanghai too befitted from the same formula after ending up tied on 10 points with home side Habib Bank and finished third in the championship.

Although the home side beat India’s Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) by the skin of their teeth, a fourth place finish brought no smiles.

Both teams were on court for almost two hours in what was an engrossing struggle for supremacy before the hosts could complete a 25-9, 25-19, 24-26, 25-27, 15-7 victory.

The home outfit looked well on course after wrapping up the first set quite easily and then the second.

But HSIDC came roaring back to snatch the next two, forcing the match into a decisive fifth in which the home team kept its nerve to seal a hard-fought win.

The Bankers rode on the good work of Naseer Ahmed, Sanaullah Khan and Ehsanullah Tipu with all three displaying an array of exciting skills.

For HSIDC, Jitender Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Surjeet Singh fought hard and made life difficult for their rivals. But their heroics went in vain as the Indians finished with a wooden spoon in the seven-team championship.

The bankers had begun the week-long championship with a victory over Uzi Samarkand of Uzbekistan but defeats on the way to Iran’s Saipa club and Rahat put them off track.

Results:

Rahat (Kazakhstan) bt Samsom (Thailand) 25-15, 25-21, 25-14, Habib Bank (Pakistan) bt HSIDC (India) 25-9, 25-19, 24-26, 25-27, 15-7.

Final standings (tabulate as played, won, lost, points) Rahat 6-5-1-11; Saipa 6-5-1-11; Shanghai 6-4-2-10; Habib Bank 6-4-2-10; Samsom 6-1-5-7; Uzi Samrakand 6-1-5-7; HSIDC 6-1-5-7.