Jul 18, 2016, 11:53 AM

Iranian v-ballers finish runner-up at Asian U20 C’ship

Iranian v-ballers finish runner-up at Asian U20 C’ship

TEHRAN, Jul. 18 (MNA) – Iran men's national junior volleyball team conceded an unexpected defeat against China to land second at 18th Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship.

Title-holders Iran had set up the final fixture with China after the two sides has prevailed over Japan and Korea in the semifinals on Saturday.

The two sides had held a similar final showdown in the previous edition of the tournament held two years ago in Manama of Bahrain where Iran hammered China 3-0 to secure their fifth title.

Iran had also beaten Chinese rivals 3-1 in 2008 edition of the event hosted by Tehran.

However, during the Sunday afternoon’s final match, it was China who pulled of a 3-2 win against Iran to win the title leading Iran to the second podium.

Despite a promising start in the first set, the Iranian squad’s errors arose later in the set giving China the chance to wrap it up 27-25.

The Persian began the second set determined to compensate for the earlier loss while tied at the score of nine. Iran gained a 16-14 lead by the second technical break and successfully finished the set in 25-21 following a powerful spike and a perfect block.

Having underestimated their opponents, the Iranian outfit committed numerous errors in the third set giving China the opportunity to finish the set at 25-21.

Recovered from the regretful loss in the third set, Iran soon took control of the fourth set by breaking the defense of China and smoothly claimed the victory by securing the set 25-18.

Both team committed more errors in this set under the big pressure, however China offered a better performance after a 9-9 tie and successfully finished the set in 15-13.

Accordingly, national Iranian junior team won the silver medal of the sportive event while China stood on top of the podium.

Also, the showdown between Japan and South Korea ended in favor of the Korean team with Japan finishing in the fourth place.

Both Iran and China are assured of winning berths to compete at the next year’s FIVB Men’s U21 Volleyball World Championship.

The 18th edition of the Asian Men's U20 Volleyball Championship kicked off in Kaohsiung on July 9 and will wrap up today on July 17.

HA/3716143

News ID 118168

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