It was not a good start for Iran in the 11th Asian Girls’ U18 Volleyball Championship after the Persian suffered a 3-0 defeat to powerhouse China on Sunday.

Iran lost to Olympic champion China in straight sets (25-14, 25-6, 25-12) in Pool A in the match held in Chongqing, China.

Iran has been scheduled to meet Hong Kong on Monday.

In the opening match defending and successive five-time champions Japan defeated New Zealand 3-0 (25–6, 25–5, 25–9).

A total of 11 teams including reigning champions Japan, China, Thailand, Korea, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Australia, Iran and Samoa will compete in the next nine days for the four tickets to the 2017 FIVB Girls U18 World Championship, which is due to take place in Argentina from August 18 to 27, 2017.