TOP CONTENDERS CLAIM BIG WINS AS ASIAN SENIOR MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS IN IRAN

Urmia, Iran, August 19, 2023 – Powerhouses Japan, Korea, and Qatar made spectacular winning starts on the opening day of the 22nd Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship on Saturday.

The topflight championship got underway in exciting fashion with a five-match program at Al Ghadir Hall here.

With reigning and consecutive two-time champions and hosts Iran not taking to the court on opening night, the other top contenders took the opportunity to send out a message of intent to their rivals.

The Japanese, Qataris, and Koreans all powered to resounding straight-set victories in their preliminary encounters, while also emerging triumphant were China and Iraq, both in five-set thrillers.

The action continues in the preliminaries on Sunday from 1.15 pm local time. Six games are scheduled for Day 2, with home-crowd favorites Iran beginning their title defense against Hong Kong, China in a Pool A contest scheduled for a 7.15 pm start at Al Ghadir’s Hall 1.

On Saturday, world No.5 Japan posted a scintillating 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-22) rout of Thailand in their head-to-head Pool B.

The silver medallists from the previous edition of the 21st Asian Championship in 2021 were led by the tandem of opposite spiker Yuji Nishida and skipper Yuki Ishikawa, who combined for 27 points.

Nishida led the way with 14. Opposite Napadet Bhinijdee paced the Thais with 14 while captain Anut Promchan contributed 12 in the loss.

“It was a tough match against Thailand and I am happy that we marked the opener of the Asian Championship with a win,” said Ishikawa, who less than a month ago was named Best Outside Hitter on the 2023 Volleyball Nations League’s Dream Team.

“The atmosphere of the stadium was exciting and great, and the fans had good support for the Japanese national team,” he added.

Thailand’s head coach Korean Park Ki Won stated: “It has been four months since we started our work. In this match, we were able to challenge the Japanese at some points. Urmia spectators created a unique atmosphere in the hall today. In addition, I must thank the officials of the Asian Volleyball Confederation and the Iran Volleyball Federation as hosts of the competition.”

The Japanese are back in action Sunday when they complete their Pool B campaign against Uzbekistan. The Thais and Uzbeks then face off on Monday.

Korea also enjoyed a convincing victory Saturday, beating Bangladesh 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-19) in Pool F.

Opposite spiker Heo Subong had 15 points as the Koreans’ top scorer, while outside hitter Gyeong-Bok Na contributed 13. Masud Hossain had seven markers, all on the attack, to pace Bangladesh.

In Pool E, Qatar asserted their dominance against India in a clinical 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-19) win.

Raimi Wadidie scored 13 points for the Qataris, ranked 19th in the world, while fellow-outside hitter Youssef Oughlaf and middle blocker Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim added 12 and 11 respectively. Ashwal Rai had 13 points to lead the Indians.

Qatar’s head coach Argentine Camilo Andres Soto said: “My players faced difficulties in this match, but we were able to play with excellent and perfect service to control.

“The games will gradually become difficult, and my prediction is to see the national teams of Japan and Iran in the finals because these two teams are a neck higher than the others.”

Soto praised the strong turnout of local supporters at the competition venue. “Urmia’s hosting is really great and the volleyball fans of this city surprised us by cheering the Qatar national team,” he said. “I am impatiently waiting for the match of the Iran national team to enjoy the unique atmosphere of the stadium.”

India head coach Jaideep Sarkar commented: “The first set of the match was decisive and, due to inconsistency, we could not control the opponents and lost. In general, we were good in this match, but Qatar was really great and won.

“The Indian Volleyball Federation has decided to invest in the volleyball of this great country in recent years, and we are, in a way, at the beginning of the road. We will get better and better with the passage of time,” he added.

Qatar will be aiming to complete a sweep of their group when they take on Afghanistan Sunday, while India and the Afghans will meet on Monday.

China survived a scare from Indonesia in their Pool C clash. The bronze medallists from the 2021 competition, the Chinese led twice in the contest but the Indonesians fought back both times to level the proceedings. The victors, however, managed to eke out the result in the end 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 26-28, 15-13).

Opposite Zhang Guanhua scored 22 points for China, while outside hitter Wang Bin chipped in with 18. Outside hitter Farhan Halim was the top player for Indonesia, scoring a game-high 24 points to help keep them in the game. Middle blocker Hendra Kumiawan added 11 in the loss.

Ambassador of China to Iran Chang Hua and Indonesian Ambassador to Iran Ronny Prasetyo Yuliantoro both attended the game

“We were not performing very well in the first two sets, but later we came back and left the court with a win,” said China head coach Hou Chundi. “Iranians are hospitable people and we are extremely grateful to all of them and the organizers for their good hosting.”

Indonesian head coach Chinese Jiang Jie commented: “There is nothing wrong with losing in the first game. Although we could not show our main performance, we had a brilliant and quality show.

“The physical strength of the Chinese was higher; however, we still have a chance to move up by defeating Kazakhstan.”

Indonesia will be looking to bounce back Sunday against the Kazakhs, and then China and Kazakhstan face off on Monday to complete pool action.

In Iraq’s Pool A win against Hong Kong, China, they took a commanding two-set advantage but their opponents roared back to force the tie-break. The Iraqis managed to recover just in time and come away with the 3-2 (25-21, 25-16, 14-25, 22-25, 15-12) decision.

Opposite Hussein Nameer Kamoona was Iraq’s top scorer with 23 points while outside hitter Osamah Sabbar contributed 15 and middle blocker Islam Sachit Matrawi had 14. Opposite spiker Chun Ho Damian Tam had a fine performance as Hong Kong, China’s leading scorer, finishing with 21 including six points on blocks.

“We had a tough match against Iraq and it will help my young national team gain experience for the continuation of the Asian Championship,” said Hong Kong, China head coach Dragan Mihailovic from Serbia. “I hope that we will be able to participate in these competitions with more preparation and strength in the next term.”

The 17-nation field in this year’s Asian Senior Men’s Championship has been divided into six pools of three teams apiece for the preliminaries.

At the end of this stage, the top two teams from each pool will advance to the Final 12 playoff stage. There, the top teams will face the second teams of each group by drawing lots.