Ardabil, Iran, May 9, 2017 – Iran proved their capability at the Asian Men’s U23 Volleyball Championship and crowned the champions title two times in a row, defending Japan in hard-fought straight sets 27-25, 26-24, 25-20 in the final showdown at the Rezazadeh Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.
The hosting team Iran, supported by overwhelming local fans, struggled hard in the first set and six substitutions were sent in to cope well with the Japan’s tactics. In the action-packed first set, Iran took the hotly-contested battle 27-25. The second set was a similar script when both sides were locked into a tight battle. Iran and Japan traded points through their mighty attacks and effective blocks. However, Iran fared better at the final assault to win the thrilling second set 26-24.
Iran gained the upper hand initially in the third set 8-5 and it seemed that all Japanese attacker Issei Otake did was not helpful to his side as Iran stormed on to take the third set 25-20, match and the championship.
Iran’s head coach Juan Cichello said after the match that he congratulated Japan as both teams have already secured berths for the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U23 World Championship in Egypt in August. He said, “We will rest for some days and after ten days, we will start our 12-week preparation for the world meet. We will try to compete in some friendly matches with our main opponents in the World Championship.”
FINAL TEAM RANKINGS
1. Iran – qualified for 2017 Men’s U23 World Championship in Egypt
2. Japan – qualified for 2017 Men’s U23 World Championship in Egypt
3. Chinese Taipei
4. Thailand
5. China
6. Pakistan
7. Kazakhstan
8. Malaysia
9. Uzbekistan
10. Sri Lanka
11. Australia
BEST INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Best Setter: Masaki Oya (Japan)
Best Libero: Suo Hou-Chen (Chinese Taipei)
Best Outside Spikers
Masato Katsuoka (Japan)
Esmaeil Mosafer (Iran)
Best Opposite Spiker: Amin Esmaeilnejad (Iran)
Best Middle Blockers
Lee Hsing-Kuo (Chinese Taipei)
Sahand Allahverdian (Iran)
Most Valuable Player: Rahman Taghizadeh (Iran)
Source and Photo: AVC
