Urmia, Iran, August 25, 2023 – Iran and Japan were billed as favourites at the very beginning of this year’s Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, and they have both unequivocally lived up to that tag.
The continental juggernauts, each ranked amongst the world’s top 10 national teams, set up a mouth-watering clash for the gold medals on Saturday, as the curtains come down on the prestigious Asian Volleyball Confederation showcase, being held in the volleyball-loving Iranian city of Urmia.
The hosts secured their place in the final after disposing of China in straight sets in their semi-final clash Friday night. The Japanese, meanwhile, shrugged off some early frustrations to rally past Qatar in a four-set nail-biter.
Saturday’s title-decider is a rematch of the gold medal game from the tournament’s previous edition two years ago in the Japanese city of Chiba/Funabashi. The Iranians broke Japan’s hearts then as they claimed their second successive Asian crown and fourth overall. The Japanese will this time be looking to return the favour as they gun for their record 11th continental title, with their last triumph coming in 2017.
The final is scheduled for a 6:00 pm start, local time, and nothing less than an action-packed barnburner is expected.
The gold medal game will be preceded by the bronze medal contest at 3:pm between losing semi-finalists China and Qatar. Two classification games are also slated for 10am (Indonesia vs Thailand) and 1pm (Bahrain vs Pakistan), respectively. The final will be followed directly by the tournament’s awards presentation and closing ceremonies.
Iran put in a class performance against China in their Final Four victory Friday. Despite the best efforts of the Chinese, the Iranians were able to close out the contest 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23).
Outside hitter Milad Ebadipour Ghara scored 11 points for victorious Iran, while middle blocker Mohammad Valizadeh and opposite spiker Saber Kazemi finished with 10 points each.
Outside hitter Wang Bin led China with 12 markers, while middle blocker Wang Dongchen and outside hitter Deng Xinpeng contributed six points apiece.
“We played well but Iran showed a maximum level of themselves,” said China head coach Hou Chundi. “The fans helped the team. They are amazing and it is very tough to play while a huge number of the crowd is with the hosts.”
The Iranians are chasing history in Saturday’s finale. The defending and successive two-time champions are hoping to become the first team ever to win the Asian senior men’s championship three times in a row.
But the Japanese will have plenty to say in their highly-anticipated head-to-head, as they too have had a sensational campaign in Urmia, which they will be looking to cap off with what would be a famous upset of the home team.
On Friday, after conceding their first set in the tournament to the Qataris, Japan made the necessary adjustments and took control from set two onwards, never looking back and claiming a resounding 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-14, 28-26) victory.
Five players finished in double figures for the Japanese, led by the 19 points of outside hitter Ran Takahashi. Skipper Yuki Ishikawa added 18 points, which included a sensational five service winners, while three others contributed 10 points apiece, namely middle blockers Taishi Onodera and Akihiro Yamauchi, and opposite spiker Kento Miyaura.
Japan’s French head coach Philippe Blain commented: “Congratulations to the Qatar team, they were wonderful.”
Outside hitter Raimi Wadidie finished with 14 points as the Qataris’ leading scorer, all in attack, while middle blocker Belal Nabel Abunabot had 11, six of which were on blocks.
In Saturday’s clash for the bronze medals, the Chinese will be aiming to repeat their third-place ranking from 2021, while the Qataris will be hoping to step on the podium for the first time in the Asian championship.
Also on Friday, Korea captured fifth place overall to end the tournament after beating Chinese Taipei 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-19) in their ranking affair.
Opposite Heo Subong was the star man for the Koreans with 28 points, mostly in attack, while Na Gyeong-Bok added 14 markers in their win including four blocks.
Chang Yu-Sheng had 17 points for Chinese Taipei, while fellow-opposite Wu Tsung-Hsuan contributed 12 in the loss.
In other classification play, Bahrain had a gutsy, come-from-behind victory in five sets against Thailand. The Bahrainis gave up the first two sets but roared back to come away with the hard-earned 3-2 (17-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-10) result.
Opposite spiker Mohammed Anan and outside hitter Mohammed Yaqoob were Bahrain’s top scorers with 19 points apiece. Anan had an impressive six blocks in the contest. Skipper Nasser Anan chipped in with 16 markers, including three blocks.
“I appreciate my players, who performed very well in the decisive moments of the match,” said Bahrain’s Argentinian head coach Ruben Adrian Wolochin. “We had a great comeback because of their spirit.”
Thai opposite Napadet Bhinijdee had a game-high 28 points, while middle blocker Thanathat Thaweerat added 12.
Bahrain will lock horns with Pakistan for seventh place overall in their final classification game Saturday.
The Pakistanis had their own impressive fightback on Friday, twice overcoming a set deficit to defeat Indonesia 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 15-12).
Opposite spiker Murad Khan and outside hitter Murad Jehan combined for 40 of the Pakistanis’ points. Khan finished with 23 points, including five blocks, while Jehan added 17. Outside hitter Afaq Khan contributed 12 in Pakistan’s win.
“I enjoyed the Indonesian national team’s physical style and play,” said Pakistan head coach Issanaye Ramires Ferraz from Brazil.
Khan added: “We started the game slow, but later on, with our head coach’s strategy, we were able to control the game and win. Our main focus is to get ready for the Asian Games [starting in September] and we should start our training after leaving Iran.”
Opposite Agil Angga Anggara was Indonesia’s best scorer with 16, while middle blocker Hendra Kumiawan finished with 11, five in blocking.
“We had a chance to win this game but my players were tired,” admitted Indonesia head coach Jiang Jie: “If we could get one more point in the fifth set, we would definitely put more pressure on the opponent and win. We need more experience and we will have a lot to say in the future.”
Anggara concurred. He commented: “Our team need more experience to get better results and by repeating tactics and playing high-pressure matches.”
Elsewhere on Friday, India swept Iraq 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16) to secure 11th place on the tournament’s final rankings.
Ashwal Rai had 13 points for the Indians, including four blocks, while opposite spiker Vinit Kumar added nine. For the Iraqis, opposite Hussein Nameer Shamil Kamoona had 14 points, all in attack, while middle blocker Muntadher Yasir and outside hitter Osamah Sabbar chipped in with six points apiece.
“We came to the court with full preparation and we were able to get a good result,” said India opposite Jerome Vinith Charles.
Their head coach Jaideep Sarkar said his side will be working hard to continue their development moving forward. “We are an inexperienced team and we will try to appear different in the next competitions,” he noted. “Our previous two losses against China and Indonesia had affected the spirit of our players.”
Kazakhstan clinched 13th place with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-13) win over Afghanistan.
Boris Kempa scored 25 points to lead the Kazakhs while fellow-outside hitter Mikhail Ustinov added 16 and Askar Serik had 13, including four blocks.
Afghan skipper Mohammad Sabawoon Wardak was his team’s top performer with 13 points, while outside hitter Ghulam Rasool Hidari chipped in with 11, all in attack.
Bangladesh won 15th place overall after defeating Hong Kong, China 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-19).
Horosit Biswas scored 24 points for the victors, including three on blocks. Masud Hossain added 19 and opposite Noman Hossin had 12.
“We had a camp in Tehran for a month to participate in this tournament and we are happy that we had a good performance,” Bangladesh’s head coach Ali Pour Aroji said. “The matches of this period were held in the highest quality.”
Hong Kong, China opposite spiker Chun Ho Damian Tam led his team with 25 points, four of which came on blocks. Middle blocker Wing Chun Wong added 14, with three blocks.
“This match was like a volleyball derby for us,” said Hong Kong, China head coach Dragan Mihailovic. “We improved compared to our match the previous day, but we still made mistakes, which is normal due to the lack of experience of the team, although the opponents were better than us and won.”
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