Manama, Bahrain, August 3, 2024 – Iran set up a thrilling final clash with China in the 15th Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championship at Isa Sport City Hall C.
The Iranians booked their return trip to the gold medal contest after taking down defending and three-time champions Japan 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-22) in Saturday night’s second semi-finals.
The former seven-time winners will now be looking to claim their eighth crown in the history of the competition, which would be their first since 2014. They lost in the final of the previous edition of the championship in 2022 to the Japanese, and got their revenge this time around.
The Iranians were on the top of their game in Saturday’s clash and were able to stave off their rivals each time they mounted a rally.
Spearheaded by the fine play of Noureyni Amir Naderi and Mohammad Amin Rahimi, Iran took the opening set convincingly and then did enough in the second to come away with a commanding 2-0 cushion. Making the most of their size advantage, they didn’t let up in the third set and closed out the match in emphatic fashion.
Naderi led all scorers with 16 points in Iran’s win while Amin added 15. Karen Masajedi, had 15 points for Japan, while Rei Iwata chipped in nine in defeat.
With their loss, Japan will now face Pakistan in the bronze-medal encounter in a game scheduled for 4.30pm local time on Sunday, prior to the championship decider.
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