Tehran, September 23, 2011 – Iran, Japan, China and Australia topped their respective pools in the preliminary round of the 16th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship at Azadi Hall Nos. 1 and 2 on Friday.
The eventual champions will qualify for the World Cup, set to take place in Japan from November 20 to December 4, with the top three teams from that tournament moving on to the London 2012 Olympic Games. If Japan finish as Asian champions, the runners-up will qualify for the World Cup.
Iran prevailed over India in straight sets (27-25, 25-17, 27-25) to top the pool in the preliminary round. India put on a decent performance, challenging the defence of the Iranian team, but the latter’s team effort prevailed. The roaring cheers that the Iranian fans provided probably made it difficult for India to concentrate. Although the win guaranteed Iran a place in the next round, there is room for improvement in the team.
Chinese Taipei took advantage of Afghanistan’s inexperience to take the match in straight sets (25-12, 25-19, 25-16). Afghanistan made critical errors in their rotation, and a series of service and reception errors brought a lot of frustration to the players. Although Chinese Taipei had some share of the blunders in the match, their level of play was much higher than that of their opponents.
Iran topped the pool with three wins, India were second with a 2-1 win-loss record, followed by Chinese Taipei (1-2) and Afghanistan (0-3).
China had an easy 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-16) victory against Uzbekistan to keep a clean record in the tournament. China displayed control and dominance in all departments throughout the match. Uzbekistan’s inexperience could be seen in their defensive movements, as they were unable to counter China’s simple attacking patterns. Captain Cui Jianjun top-scored for China with 12 points.
Sri Lanka clinched a five-set match (25-20, 28-26, 21-25, 21-25, 15-13) against Indonesia. Sri Lanka’s quick plays prevailed in the first and second sets, but Indonesia were able to break Sri Lanka’s rhythm by going on an attacking spree of their own in the next two sets, so forcing a tiebreaker. Sri Lanka’s string of attacks and sharp serves eventually gave them set and match.
China collected nine points from three straight wins, placing first, with Sri Lanka second and Indonesia third. Winless Uzbekistan finished at the bottom of the group.
Despite a number of service errors, Japan overcame Kazakhstan in straight sets (25-23, 25-19, 25-23). Even with the service blunders, Japan showed good composure in attack and displayed good control of the Kazakh attack with their blocking. Yoneyama Uta and Tatsuya Fukuzawa combined for a total of 28 points to maintain Japan’s clean record in the preliminary round.
Thailand bowed in straight sets (25-19, 25-21, 28-26) to the strong-attacking Pakistan squad. Setter Asif Nadeem orchestrated good plays for his teammates as Syed Shujah Abe Naqvi took care of the team’s offensive thrust with precise attacks that left the Thai defenders vulnerable.
Japan topped the group with three wins, followed by Pakistan (2-1), Kazakhstan (1-2) and Thailand (0-3).
Korea pulled off a straight-sets win (29-27, 25-14, 25-12) against Qatar despite a strong showing by the Qataris in the first set. Qatar tested Korea’s endurance in the first set, showing determination in defence and offence. Korea had more determination and got the break to come back in the set. Korea maintained great condition in their plays, especially from Kim Yo Han who displayed excellent attacks and helped out in defence.
“In volleyball, it’s important to have good condition in all the sets, not just the first set. For us, we played well in the first set, but our game went down in the other sets,” Qatar coach Fausto Polidori conceded.
Australia’s good concentration, reception and attack carried them to a solid victory over Turkmenistan in straight sets (25-14, 25-12, 25-17).
Australia maintained a perfect record in the group, while Korea were second with two wins and one defeat, Qatar were third (1-2) and Turkmenistan last.
The classification matches will take place on Sunday.