The Asian Volleyball Confederation offered a moment of silence to mourn the passing of Iran men’s volleyball team star Saber Kazemi at age 26 before Iran’s classification match against India in the 2nd AVC Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship on Wednesday at the Princess Sumaya Hall.
The Iran Women’s U16 team also honored their fellow athlete, each member holding a photo of Kazemi and wearing a black armband to pay tribute to his legacy.
Iran coach Fatemeh Shabankhamseh dedicated their 25-10, 25-17, 25-6 win over India to Kazemi and his family.
“We are very sad,” said Shabankhamseh
Islamic Republic of Iran Volleyball Federation mourns the passing of Kazemi, who suffered from an acute brain condition as he was supposed to play for Al-Rayyan team of Qatar this season.
“Saber Kazemi, the young star and left-handed Iranian volleyball, left the Iranian volleyball family in deep sorrow,” the federation posted on Instagram.
“His death has struck the Iranian volleyball family with profound grief, as Kazemi was widely regarded as one of the most promising left-handed attackers of his generation.”
“The respected family of Kazemi and the Iranian volleyball society. With great regret and impact, we express our condolences on the death of dear Saber.”
Kazemi was a former MVP of the AVC Champions League for Foolad Sirjan Iranian in 2021, the same year he won the Asian Championship MVP for Iran’s championship.
He was a two-time Asian Games gold medalist in 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou, which staged two years ago.
Kazemi played in club leagues in Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Qatar.