AVC Men Champs/Iran Rout Past Pakistan in Straight Set

Surabaya, Indonesia, July 25, 2017 – With one day remaining in their pool round-robin preliminaries, seven teams have been ensured their eligibility in the top 8 teams of the SMM 19th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, with hosts Indonesia and Qatar fighting it out for the last berth on Wednesday.

At the conclusion of the pool plays on Wednesday, top two teams from each pool will advance to the last 8 teams playoffs. However, the teams claiming successive two victories in the top-flight competition have proved well they are strong contenders to be reckoned with for the 19th Asian title in Surabaya.

Former two-time Asian champions Iran, which sent a strong U23 side this time to gain valuable experience ahead of their uphill task at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U23 World Championship in Egypt from August 18 to 25, and Chinese Taipei grabbed two wins apiece in Pool B without losing a set to their respective rivals and will confront each other on Wednesday to decide the winners of the pool.

Iran brushed off Pakistan 25-23 25-22 25-14 on Tuesday, with Chinese Taipei overcoming a strong challenge from Iraq for a straight-set 26-24 25-21 25-22 win.

The pool plays continue on Wednesday when the top two teams from each pool will next advance to the last 8 teams playoffs. The teams finishing third and fourth places of each pool will be relegated to the 9th-16th classification round.

Tuesday’s results

Pool round-robin preliminaries

Pool A

Qatar b Saudi Arabia 3-0 (25-23 25-21 25-21)

Kazakhstan b Indonesia 3-2 (23-25 27-25 25-21 21-25 15-13)

Pool B

Chinese Taipei b Iraq 3-0 (26-24 25-21 25-22)

Iran b Pakistan 3-0 (25-23 25-22 25-14)

Pool C

Japan b Vietnam 3-0 (25-13 25-19 25-18)

Korea b Sri Lanka 3-0 (25-15 25-20 25-20)

Pool D

Australia b Thailand 3-2 (19-25 26-28 25-19 25-14 15-11)

China b Hong Kong 3-0 (25-13 25-16 25-19)