2023 medalists Italy and Bulgaria met different fates on Day 1 in Jiangmen
Defending champions Iran overcame a four-set challenge from Kazakhstan to begin their title defense at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship on Thursday at the Jiangmen Sports Center, where 2023 silver medalist Italy also started strong with a sweep of Indonesia, while bronze medalist Bulgaria fought hard in a four-set loss to Cuba as the preliminary round opened.
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Iran endured a tough start to its title defense in Pool B, holding off Kazakhstan 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17). The two teams traded the first two sets with nearly identical numbers in attack and serve, before Iran’s block established control in the final two frames.
Seyed Matin Hosseini Tolouti and Pouya Ariakhah combined for 20 points in the opening sets to steady the Iranian attack. Ariakhah finished as top scorer with 21 points in an all-around performance, while Matin added 12 and served four aces.
Kazakhstan kept the match close with Klim Ryukhov and Assylkhan Izbergenuly leading their second-set surge. Ryukhov closed with 14 points, but the Iranians proved more consistent at the net to seal their first victory.
In Pool D, 2023 silver medalist Italy was pressed by Indonesia but secured a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-22) win to begin its campaign. The two teams matched each other with 30 kills, but Italy made the difference with 12 blocks and 10 aces.
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Pardo Mati led the way with 13 points, dominating at the service line with six aces and adding four blocks at the net. Tommaso Barotto scored 12 and Manuel Zlatanov had 11, while Muhammad Haikal Hidayatullah posted 12 points for Indonesia.
Italy held off Indonesia in the first set 25-21 and found more rhythm in the second at 25-17. The third set saw Indonesia lead until 19-18, but Italy closed strong with key blocks to finish the sweep.
In Pool C, Bulgaria, the 2023 bronze medalist, dropped its opener against Cuba 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-21). The Cubans struck 54 kills and served nine aces, outlasting Bulgaria’s blocking edge.
Daniel Guillermo Martinez Campos paced Cuba with 23 points on 19 kills, two blocks and two aces. Carlos Javier Pereira Larea added 14 as Cuba captured its first win of the tournament.
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Bulgaria leaned on Zhasmin Velichkov and Aleksandar Kandev, who finished with 11 points each, but the team could not finish the tight third and fourth sets.
In other matches, the United States opened Pool A with a sweep of Thailand 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19). The Americans tallied 42 kills, 10 aces and eight blocks to control the match from start to finish. Cole Hartke led with 12 points, while Sean Kelly and Jackson Cryst added 11 each. Setter Tread Rosenthal topped all blockers with three. Kittipong Sangsak led Thailand with 16.
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The host nation also started strong, as China posted a 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 25-21) victory over Türkiye in front of its home crowd. After splitting the first two sets, China edged the third 25-23 and then finished the fourth behind a sharp block. Li Hai delivered 26 points, while Wang Bohan added 15. Yigit Hamza Aslan led Türkiye with 17.
Egypt closed out Pool A with a commanding 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-17) win against Morocco in an all-African contest. Mahmoud Abdelbaki scored 16 points and captain Hamza Awad added 12 as Egypt held the advantage in every category. Hicham Masmoudi finished with nine for Morocco.
Poland got its campaign rolling in Pool B with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-22) win against Puerto Rico. After cruising through the opener, Poland had to rally late in the second and worked hard to secure the third. Wojciech Gajek scored 14 points on eight kills, three blocks and three aces, while Eliel David Salva Torres tallied 12 for Puerto Rico.
The other Pool B clash went the distance, with Korea rallying to edge Canada 3-2 (26-28, 25-20, 25-18, 15-25, 15-7). Korea produced 52 kills and committed fewer errors to prevail in the tiebreaker. Yun Gyeong led with 18 points and four blocks, and Lee Woojin added 15. Daniil Hershtynovich topped all scorers with 21 points for Canada.
Over in Pool C, Japan swept Brazil 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-20) in one of the day’s marquee matchups. Japan’s quick tempo on attack and defense made the difference, with Takuma Kawano leading early on with 14 points across the first two sets. Shunta Ono added 11 and Kai Yamamoto 10 to close out the win, while Thiago Vaccari Kavalkievicz led Brazil with 12.
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Czechia also started with a sweep, defeating Colombia 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-16). The Czechs overwhelmed their opponents with 44 kills and four aces. Tomas Brichta scored 17, with Stepan Svoboda and Matej Pastrnak contributing 11 and 10. Maicol Isaac Ortiz Castañeda had eight for Colombia.
Action in Pool D began with France’s 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) win over Tunisia. After a close first set, France kept control through the rest of the match with Thomas Pujol scoring 10 points and strong contributions from Adrian Roure and Andrej Jokanovic. Adem Ben Massoud led Tunisia with 11.
The pool wrapped up with Ukraine’s 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21) victory over Argentina. Ukraine claimed the first two sets, allowed Argentina to pull one back in the third, then regained momentum in the fourth. Oleksandr Boiko scored 17 points, with Andrii Chelenyak adding 14 and Eduard Shteryk 13. Fausto Diaz topped Argentina with 14.
2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship: full schedule
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