Japan picked up bronze after 3-1 demolition of Qatar
Hangzhou, China, September 26, 2023 – Iran were on cloud nine on Tuesday night following their terrific comeback win against hosts China in the final showdown of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Men’s Volleyball Competition at Linping Sports Center Gymnasium to stretch their invincibility in the continental multi-sports extravaganza to three in succession.
The dramatic 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-22, 26-24) win on Tuesday handed Iran their unprecedented hat trick in the quadrennial sports event. More importantly, it restored the Iran’s pride lost in the 22nd Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship last month when they, as defending successive two-time champions, succumbed to a painful straight-set loss of pride to indomitable Japan in the final clash on their home soil in Urmia. The Iran’s victory also shattered Chinese dreams of ending their 25-year Asian Games gold-medal drought.
China, current world No.27 which captured the 2022 AVC Cup title to their name, had claimed gold medal in the Asian Games for three times in 1986 in Seoul, Korea, 1990 on home soil in Beijing and 1998 in Bangkok, Thailand, but since then had never repeated the feat. In the 2006 Doha Games in Qatar, the Chinese were just one step away from stardom, but had to leave the venue with heads low in disappointment following their 1-3 loss to eventual winners Korea in the showdown.
In a highly-anticipated final clash on Tuesday, China, strong with the likes of star spiker Zhang Jingyin, delighted home fans with their solid start and stunning 25-19 win in the first set against Iran, current world No.11 and former four-time Asian champions.
However, the Iranians shrugged off rust in time and bounced back mightily. As the Chinese nerves began to fray and came up with more unforced mistakes in the second set, Iran advanced with a two-point clear at 15-13 lead and with Shahrooz Homyoun Farmanesh and Amirhossein Esfandiar on fire in attack, they managed to hold on to their advantage. To all’s astonishment, the Iranians were incredibly dominant with 8 points in a row scored against the host side and gave no chance of coming back to the opponents for the astonishing 25-14 win in the totally one-sided set.
Devastating left-hander Saber Kazemi’s intensity and threat on offense made him one of the most difficult to defend against from the right side. He was hard-hitting and heavy-scoring opposite, and a game-changer, joined…
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