TEHRAN – Iran lost to Japan in the 18th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship final.

In the match held at the packed twelve-thousand Azadi Stadium in Tehran, the Iranian team lost to Japan 3-1 (17–25, 22–25, 25–18, 22–25).
“I congratulate the Japanese for winning the title. Our goal was to field our young players to gain experience for the upcoming events,” Iran coach Peyman Akbari said in the post-match news conference.
Earlier in the day, China defeated Qatar 3-2 (25–23, 25–19, 21–25, 24–26,15–9 ) and came third.
The 18th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship started on July 31 with the participation of 16 teams and finished on August 8 at Azadi Indoor Stadium in Tehran.
A total of 18 editions have already been held, Japan has won eight titles, followed respectively by Korea (4), China (3), Iran (2) and Australia (1).
In the previous episode two years ago in Dubai, the UAE, Iran crushed Korea in straight sets to successfully retain their title. China powered past Japan 3-1 in the third-place playoff to win take home the bronze medal.

MH