TEHRAN - Iranian international outside hitter Milad Ebadipour says that newly-appointed coach Vladimir Alekno is a great coach and everybody respects him.

Alekno, who leads Zenit at the moment, was appointed as Iran coach in November to lead the Persians in the Olympic Games, where they are drawn in Pool A along with Japan, Poland, Italy, Canada and Venezuela.

“Working with such a trainer will be an honor for us. In my opinion, Alekno is one of the best in his profession in the world. He proved it at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where he led Russia to a gold medal. Alekno is a great coach that everyone respects. We can learn a lot from him. He definitely has an idea how to lead our team,” Ebadipour said in an interview with Polish site sportowefakty.wp.pl.

“I talked to Zenit outside hitter Bartosz Bednorz about Alekno. He told me the Russian coach is a serious person and a good man,” the 26-year-old player who was granted Polish citizenship in August went on to say.

Ebadipour believes that Iran can win a medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo under leadership of the Russian coach.

“We want to be in top four. We play for medal. Our first match will be against powerhouse Poland but the victory will not make us reach the quarter-finals, and the loss will not destroy our chances. I think that each match is very important in the Olympics if you want to fight for medal,” he concluded.