Strong contenders pulled off convincing straight-set wins on Day 2 of the 1st Asian Men’s U16 Volleyball Championship as Iran, fresh from dramatic victory against Japan in their previous match, scored another big win at Yunusobod Sports Complex Hall in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
On Sunday, Kazakhstan bagged first win in their very first match in the eight-day championship, Chinese Taipei and Japan bounced back from their first-day losses with comfortable wins against their respective opponents and Iran’s hard-fought three-set win against China solidified their position as one of the strongest teams to be reckoned with in this historic continental championship.
Contesting their second Pool C match, Iran struggled in the opening set against China, which earlier outplayed Saudi Arabia 3-0 on Saturday, to narrowly edge the tough rivals 31-29 for the set win.
However, thanks to successful first-tempo attacks by Khoshhaldashliboroun Mohammadraouf and Abdullahifar Kamyab, who were the most productive players for the team with 16 and 14 points respectively in their match against Japan, the Iranians were incredibly dominant in the next two sets, giving China no chance for comeback to win 25-17, 25-23 for the straight-set win.
With 5 points from two wins in a row, Iran remained at the top of Pool C. Despite having one remaining match against Saudi Arabia on Monday, the Iranians are assured of finishing Top two in the Pool to make the cut for the next round.
In the other encounter in Pool C on Sunday, Japan revived their fortunes, producing an exceptional straight-set 25-18, 25-18, 25-10 triumph over Saudi Arabia. Following the remarkable performance, Japan had 4 points from one win against one loss to Iran to trail in second place in Pool C.
Saudi Arabia succumbed to two successive losses and will seek their first win on Monday when they will have a daunting task against the formidable Iranians in their last Pool C match, while Japan will next face off against China, which are in third position in Pool C with 3 points from one win against one loss.
Earlier, Kazakhstan, which had a rest day on Saturday, got the championship off to a flying start to rout Hong Kong, China in straight sets 25-21, 25-15, 25-18 to clinch their first win in Pool A, leaving Hong Kong, China to suffer two losses in succession.
With only three teams contesting Pool A, Hong Kong, China, which suffered their first loss to hosts Uzbekistan, failed to make their mark and are certain of not making the Top 8 round.
Kazakhstan and hosts Uzbekistan, both of them had already beaten Hong Kong China, will face off on Monday to determine the Pool A winners. However, both teams have already secured their berths in the next round in Top 8.
In Pool D, Chinese Taipei, which went down in straight sets to Pakistan on the opening day, regained the lost pride by brushing off Mongolia in a lopsided battle 25-20, 25-12, 25-4.
With only three teams contesting Pool D, the Mongolians will play their last preliminary match against Pakistan on Monday with their backs against the wall. If Mongolia give their best, but still go down to the Pakistanis on Monday, an unexpected loss will shatter the Mongolian dreams of qualifying for the next round.
On Monday, the final day of the pool round-robin preliminaries, Kazakhstan go up against hosts Uzbekistan in Pool A, Thailand take on Australia in Pool B, China challenge Japan and Iran face Saudi Arabia in Pool C, with and Pakistan playing Mongolia in Pool D.
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