IRAN RECLAIM ASIAN MEN’S U20 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Manama, Bahrain, July 28, 2018 – Iran underlined their supremacy over the 19th Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship at Isa Sport City Hall after a magnificent 3-0 victory over Korea in the final showdown on Saturday.

However, as top two teams from the Asian meet in Manama, Iran and Korea have already secured their berths to contest the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship.

The victory stretched the Iran’s invincibility to six times in history. Their latest win in this top-tier championship was in 2014 when they brushed off China in straight sets to capture their fifth Asian title in Manama. However, the Iranians lost their title in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei two years ago following a hared-fought 2-3 loss to the old foes in the showdown.

This time, Iran reclaimed the title after thrashing Korea, the team they had already beaten in the Pool A preliminaries, in straight sets 25-22 25-14 25-18 in a final clash.

In the bronze-medal match earlier, Thailand struggled to beat Iraq 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 26-24). Advancing to the semi-finals earlier was an history for both teams. Nonetheless, for Thailand, the win occurred on an auspicious occasion since Thai people from all walks of life are celebrating His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun’s 66th birthday on July 28.

Furthermore, the win also marked the first-time ever that Thailand won a medal in the Asian Men’s U20 Championship since their participation in the top-flight competition in 1986 on home soil in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, defending champions China had a daunting task against Chinese Taipei to narrowly beat the formidable rivals 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22) to take home the 5th place, leaving Chinese Taipei to finish 6th overall.

In the 7th-8th playoff earlier, Australia proved an impossible nut to crack for Kazakhstan after cruising past the opponents in straight sets 25-22, 25-18, 25-23, while hosts Bahrain downed Sri Lanka 25-21 25-19 25-17 in the 9th-10th playoff.

Qatar, the only team which did not win a match heading to the final day, left the venue with their heads low in great disappointment after going down to Turkmenistan in straight sets 20-25 23-25 14-25 to return with the 12th place, with Turkmenistan in 11th position.

New Zealand came back to beat the UAE 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22) to finish 17th place overall, while Hong Kong defeated Jordan 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-20) in the 19th-20th playoff.

FINAL RESULTS
Court 1
(7th-8th) – Australia b Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23)
(5th-6th) – China b Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22)
BRONZE-MEDAL MATCH: Thailand b Iraq 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 26-24)
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Iran b Korea 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18)

Court 2
(19th-20th) – Hong Kong b Jordan 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-20)
(17th-18th) – New Zealand b UAE 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22)
(11th-12th) – Turkmenistan b Qatar 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-14)
(9th-10th) – Bahrain b Sri Lanka 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-17)

FINAL RANKINGS

1. IRAN qualified for 2019 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship
2. KOREA qualified for 2019 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship
3. THAILAND
4. IRAQ
5. China
6. Chinese Taipei
7. Australia
8. Kazakhstan
9. Bahrain
10. Sri Lanka
11. Turkmenistan
12. Qatar
13. Japan
14. Pakistan
15. India
16. Saudi Arabia
17. New Zealand
18. UAE
19. Hong Kong
20. Jordan
21. Macao
22. Maldives
23. Malaysia

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
BEST OUTSIDE SPIKERS
1. Morteza Sharifi (Iran No. 5)
2. Pourya Yali (Iran No. 20)

BEST MIDDLE BLOCKERS
1. Soranan Nuampara (Thailand No.06)
2. Mehran Feyz Emamdoust (Iran No. 09)

BEST OPPOSITE SPIKER
Ali Sahib Abushanan (Iraq No. 10)

BEST LIBERO
Kyeongmin Park (Korea No. 02)

BEST SETTER
Ikje Choi (Korea No.03)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Amir Hossein Esfandiar (Iran No.12)

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