Iran and Pakistan became the only teams unbeaten in the 1st Asian Men’s U16 Volleyball Championship at Hall 1 inside Yunusobod Sports Complex in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Wednesday, as Top 8 teams strived vigorously to notch opening wins in Pools E and F to keep their hopes of advancing to the semifinals alive.
Iran, which made a clean sweep in Pool C including big wins against Japan and China, moved a step closer to securing their semifinal berth.
Contesting the cross Top 8 matches against Kazakstan, Uzbekistan and Japan in Pool E, the Iranians, who had already pulled off dramatic 3-2 win against Japan in the pool round-robin preliminaries, proved themselves as one of the strongest contenders for the eventual Asian title as they saw off Kazakhstan in thrilling four-setter 25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 on Wednesday.
In the other Pool E encounter, Japan survived a huge scare from Pool A winners Uzbekistan to silence the cheering home fans with a stunning victory against Uzbekistan in a hard-fought five-set thriller 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 15-13.
In Pool F, Pakistan, the only team which have yet lost a set to their respective opponents in this championship, continued their remarkable unbeaten run in Tashkent.
On Wednesday, the Pakistanis proved a cut above Australia to brush off the Pool B second place in comfortable straight sets 25-13, 25-19, 25-14.
Chinese Taipei, which earlier finished second to Pool D winners Pakistan, struggled hard in another Pool F match on Wednesday to narrowly edge spirited Thailand in exhausting five sets 25-16, 26-28, 16-25, 26-24, 15-11.
At the end of the first-day action of the action-packed round of Top 8 on Wednesday, in-form Iran stayed atop Pool E with 5 points from two straight wins against Japan (in preliminary round Pool C earlier) and Kazakhstan. Hosts Uzbekistan came in second place with 4 points from one win against one loss. Uzbekistan had already defeated Kazakhstan in straight sets in preliminary Pool A match earlier.
Japan also had the same 1-1 win/loss record as Uzbekistan, but claimed only 3 points to trail in third position in Pool E. The Japanese side went down 2-3 to Iran in preliminary round Pool C earlier, but captured a dramatic 3-2 win against Uzbekistan on Wednesday. Kazakhstan succumbed to two losses in succession consisting 0-3 to Uzbekistan in preliminary round Pool A earlier and another 0-3 letdown to Iran on Wednesday to finish fourth place in Pool E.
Unbeaten Pakistan topped Pool F with 6 points from two wins in a row including 3-0 against Chinese Taipei in their preliminary round Pool D earlier. Despite the upset 2-3 loss to Chinese Taipei on Wednesday, Thailand came in second spot with 4 points from one win against one loss. The Thai squad had already beaten Australia 3-1 in their preliminary round Pool B earlier.
Chinese Taipei are trailing in third position with 2 points from one win on Wednesday against one loss, while Australia suffered two straight losses to Thailand and Pakistan to finish fourth place in Pool F.
The Top 8 round continues on Thursday in Pool E and Pool F, which will determine the top two teams from each pool to secure their 1-4 semifinal spots. The lower-ranked teams finishing third and fourth places in each pool will be relegated to Classification Round for 5th-8th places.
On Thursday, the Pool F encounters see Australia challenge Chinese Taipei to seek their first win in the championship, while Thailand need their best performance in their tough match against Pakistan to enhance their chance of making the cut for the semifinals.
In Pool E, Japan will take on Kazakhstan in a must-win match to keep their hopes of advancing to the semifinals alive, while undefeated Iran will challenge hosts Uzbekistan for a clean sweep in Pool E and a semifinal berth.
Meanwhile, the single round-robin Classification Round for ranking 9-12 in Pool G, China, which have already beaten Saudi Arabia in straight sets in Pool C, captured a thrilling straight-set 26-24, 25-17, 25-19 win against Mongolia, while Hong Kong, China followed suit to sweep Saudi Arabia in closely-contested three sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-23.
China will play their last Pool G match against Hong Kong, China on Thursday, with Mongolia taking on Saudi Arabia.
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