Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, August 8, 2022 – Iran, fielding U20 squad, recovered from the first-set down to beat debutants Pakistan in thrilling four-setter 21-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-21 in the 2022 AVC Cup for Men at the Nakhon Pathom Provincial Gymnasium here on Monday.
Since there are only two teams in Pool B and with only top two teams from each pool advancing, Iran and Pakistan have already guaranteed their berths in the round of the last eight teams. Both teams similarly made solid start to level 4-4 in the opening set, but after that Pakistan broke away, courtesy of Mazhar Ali’s dazzling form at the net.
As the Pakistanis’ dominance continued through a fusion of their exceptional spikes and scintillating blocks to surge away with a 3-point clear at 17-14, Iran unleashed on several powerful blows from Poriya Hooseinkhanzadeh Firouzjah and the 206cm-tall Amir Mohammad Golzadeh to catch up with them at 17-17.
From then, both teams battled hard in the closely-contested set, but Pakistan were playing smart and positioning themselves well for the counter-attacks as both teams traded points until the Pakistanis made the difference. Mazhar Ali was on fire and he combined well with Ahmed Nazir to produce solid blocks against Amir Mohammad Golzadeh’s attacks to put Pakistan in front with a two-point advantage at 23-21. Pakistan stormed on to bag two straight points for the set win 25-21.
Conceding one set, Iran roared back in the second set, with Amir Mohamad Golzadeh, Younes Javan Bonehgaz and Poriya Hooseinkhanzadeh Firouzjah leading the team’s offence. Levelling 11-11, Iran found a way through the impregnable wall and their consistency to advance 23-16, thanks to Younes Javan Bonehgaz’s two aces in a row. Determined Pakistan struck back, but the Iranians superbly fended off the attacks to eventually win the set 25-16.
Their confidence boosted, Iran came up with superb net play and mighty attacks to strangle the rivals in the third set. They captured the pole position with a 6-point lead at 17-11 and went on that fine form. Poriya Hooseinkhanzadeh Firouzjah entertained local spectators at the competition site with three aces in succession to widen the margin to 20-11. Pakistan did not give up easily as they clawed back into game to reduce the gap 18-24, but that was not enough to stop the formidable oppositions. Iran cruised on to win the set 25-18.
The fourth set turned out to be a hotly-anticipated contest as both sides poured everything to win the set. With the hefty Amir Mohammad Golzadeh and Poriya Hooseinkhanzadeh Firouzjah firing powering cross-court attacks, Iran stayed in front 16-14 and advanced 22-18. Pakistan hit back, but became more prone to attacking mistakes, leaving Iran to maintain their lead 23-19, widened it 24-21 and never gave Pakistan any chance to fight back. Iran captured the set 25-21 and match.
Poriya Hooseinkhanzadeh Firouziah topped all scorers with 22 points including 17 attacks and 4 aces for Iran, while Amir Mohammad Golzadeh added another 19 points including 17 attacks. Fahad Raza led Pakistan with 22 points including 19 attacks and 2 blocks.
“My players are U20 and we are using the AVC Cup for Men here to prepare our team for the upcoming Asian Men’s U20 Championship in Bahrain. It’s good to win this match as we can improve our technique and tactics for next matches,” Iran head coach Gholamreza Momeni Moghadam commented through translator.
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