IRAN LAUNCH 3-0 WIN AGAINST CHINA IN 2016 FINAL REMATCH

Manama, Bahrain, July 21, 2018 – Iran fuelled their fast plays with strong serves against China to win 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-22) on Saturday’s match of the 2018 Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship at Isa Sport City Hall.

Morteza Sharifi bagged 14 points for Iran as the best scorer, while Chinese Diao Jianfei assembled 20 points. In a rematch of the 2016 final, Iranian players performed head-to-head and made it a sweep win against title-holders China.

In the first set, Iran took a commanding 8-3 lead in the first technical time-out with the help of Morteza Sharifi on attack and serve. China identified weak spots in their opponents’ reception, and converted well with their precise attacks to minimize the difference. Iran with four of their experienced players from senior age group made wonder against China and finished 25-22.

In the second set, China were totally amputated as Iran carried on by imposing pressure from the service line which threw their opponents off defenses. China coach Hang Li continued to search for solutions to the team’s predicament. However, their problems in defence persisted. Iran took the second set 25-13.

By the third set, China made the scores tie twice in 15-15 and 21-21. Iran coach Behrouz Attaei called time-out and made his players finish the close contest 25-22.

Behrouz Ataei said “My players did really a good job today. In the third set, they acted like they won the match so they missed some points, providing the chance for China to catch up. We are trying to do our best to win every match. For us, every match is like the final one and we fight for every ball.”

“This is like the World Championship as the number of teams are more than 16. However, it cannot be a good qualification for Asian teams as the World Championship because all the participating teams are the best teams of their continents. In Asia, there must be some modifications in the format of the tournament to enable the players to play more matches in order that they can gain more experience in official tournaments,” Iran captain Amir Hossein Esfandia commented about the new format.

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