Formidable Iran bounced back to beat hosts Uzbekistan in thrilling four-setter in their last Pool E match of the Top 8, but both teams qualified for the semifinals of the 1st Asian Men’s U16 Volleyball Championship at Hall 1 inside Yunusobod Sports Complex in Tashkent on Thursday, as Pakistan set up another semifinal clash with Chinese Taipei.
The cross Top 8 matches in Pool E and Pool F came to a conclusion on Thursday when top two teams from each pool advanced to the cross semifinals, vying for top honor in this historic continental championship and the podium finish. Only top three teams from the Asian meet in Tashkent will make the cut for the next year’s inaugural FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship.
In the Top 8 encounters on Thursday, Iran came from behind to beat Uzbekistan 3-1 and Kazakhstan stunned Japan 3-0 in Pool E, while Pakistan mercilessly crushed Thailand 3-0 and Chinese Taipei demolished Australia 3-0 in Pool F.
In Pool E, Iran, powered by Amin Asiaei and Mostafa Sedaghat, remained on course on Thursday. Though going down in the closely-contested first set 24-26, the unbeaten Iranians gradually pulled their games together to win the next two sets without much effort 25-17, 25-15 to hold 2-1 advantage.
However, Uzbekistan, with Saidjamol Mirobidinov on fire in attack, came back much stronger in the crucial fourth set to fight for every point, but the Iranians foiled their rivals’ determined effort, limiting the Uzbekistan’s offense with solid blocks and counter-attacking well to win the hard-fought set 26-24 and match.
Amin Asiaei chipped in with 16 points including 12 attacks from 23 attempts for Iran, while Mostafa Sedaghat and Kamyab Abdollahifar kept good company to add 15 and 13 points respectively.
No Uzbekistan player scored double digits in this match, with Saidjamol Mirobidinov bagging 9 points on the team’s loss.
In the other Pool E encounter, Kazakhstan sprang a surprise with an upset straight-set 25-18, 25-18, 27-25 win against Japan.
Nurassyl Mukhtar delivered 16 points from 12 attacks, 3 blocks and one ace for Kazakhstan, while Rei Iwata scored a match-high 18 points including 16 attacks on the Japan’s stunning loss.
After two days of cross matches in Pool E, Iran made a clean sweep with 8 points from three straight wins to comfortably reach the semifinals. Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Japan had the similar 1-2 win/loss record, but the host side fared better to bag 4 points to join the Iranians in the semifinals.
Kazakhstan and Japan claimed 3 points apiece to finish 3rd and 4th places respectively in Pool E to be next relegated to the Classification Round for ranking 5-8.
In Pool F, Pakistan, the only team which have yet lost a set to their respective rivals in this championship, proved too strong for Thailand to power past the hapless rivals in comfortable straight sets 25-9, 25-16, 25-19.
Pakistan won this game with better scoring skills, dominating in kills (30 to 16), blocks (11 to 1) and service (6 to 2) apart from benefitting from more opponent errors (28 to 25).
Shah Muhtad Ali and Yahya Muhammad handed Pakistan 10 points apiece for the team’s victory, while no Thai player reached double digits in scoring against the Pakistanis. Jirawat Sumamarn led Thailand with 8 points including 7 attacks.
The other Pool F match saw Chinese Taipei pull off a totally lopsided win against Australia, penetrating the rivals’ defence into shreds with their spectacular attacks before winning 25-1, 25-11, 25-17.
Huang Ping-Yen tallied 17 points with 11 kills, one block and team-leading five aces for Chinese Taipei, while Tom Bergemann scored only 6 points on the Australia’s losing effort.
Pakistan topped Pool F with 9 points from three wins in succession, while Chinese Taipei surged ahead Thailand to the second place in this Pool with 5 points from 2 wins against one loss. Thailand and Australia came in third and fourth places with 4 points and no point respectively.
Meanwhile, in the single round-robin Classification Round for ranking 9-12 in Pool G, China ended their campaign in this championship with dramatic 3-1 (25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 25-15) win against Hong Kong, China in their last match on Thursday.
The other clash saw Mongolia come back to beat Saudi Arabia in four sets 17-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-16.
As of Thursday, China lead the pack with unchallenged 9 points from three straight wins to be assured of clinching the 9th position in this championship.
Hong Kong, China are trailing in second place with 3 points from one win against one loss, while Mongolia also had 3 points with the similar 1-1 win/loss record to come in third place. Saudi Arabia lost them all in Pool G to guarantee the bottom 12th place in this eight-day tournament.
With China and Saudi Arabia taking the 9th and 12th places, the last Pool G match on Friday between Hong Kong China and Mongolia will, therefore, determine ranking 10-11.
On Friday, the penultimate day of the championship, Australia will take on Kazakhstan and Thailand go up against Japan in the Classification Round for 5-8 places, while the highly-anticipated semifinals see Iran challenge Chinese Taipei and hosts Uzbekistan face off against Pakistan.
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