Muscat: After two successive victories, hosts Oman suffered their first defeat when they came up against a strong Kuwait team in the ongoing GCC Under-18 Volleyball Championship at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Hitherto unbeaten Kuwait proved too strong for Oman as they raced to their third successive victory in a 26-24, 25-15, 25-20 straight sets verdict.

A victory against Kuwait would have boosted Oman’s chances of winning the title in the six-team tournament, which is being played on a single round-robin format.

Now the hosts are in third place behind Kuwait and Bahrain.

Bahrain too maintained their unbeaten record when they defeated Saudi Arabia 25-21, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Qatar recorded their first victory when accounted for the United Arab Emirates 25-18, 25-21, 25-13.

With two rounds of matches to be played, Oman can still fancy their chances of winning the top honours provided Bahrain and Kuwait fumble in their next matches.

On Thursday, Oman take on Bahrain, Kuwait face Qatar and Saudi Arabia meet the UAE.

The tournament concludes on Saturday when Bahrain square off against Kuwait, Qatar meet Saudi Arabia and Oman conclude their engagements against the UAE.