With the victory over Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20), Japan advanced to the finals of the Asian Championship. Japan and Iran confirmed their primacy in Asia and by placing in the finals secured a place at the 2022 World Championship in Russia.
Yuki Ishikawa led Japan in a win over Chinese Taipei with 16 points, Haku Ri (Lee Haku) and Kenta Takanashi added 15. Japan suffered only one defeat in this championship, while Iran is undefeated so far and with only one set lost. Liu Hung Min of Chinese Taipei was the top scorer of the match with 18 point, while Wu Tsung Hsuan added 16.
Tomorrow, hosts Japan and Iran will clash in the match for the gold medal, while the Chinese Taipei and China will play in the match for the bronze. Match for 5th place will be between Qatar and Australia. All final matches are scheduled for tomorrow.
Finals
Gold medal match
Japan – Iran
Bronze medal match
Kina – Chinese Taipei
5th place match
Qatar – Australia
7th place match
Pakistan – Korea
1-4 place matches:
Semifinals
China – Iran 1-3 (22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 17-25)
Japan – Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20)
5-8 place matches:
Qatar – Korea 3-0 (25-16, 32-30, 25-22)
Australia – Pakistan 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-23)
Pool E (Qatar, Australia, China, Japan)
Qatar – Australia 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21)
Japan – China 1-3 (19-25, 29-27, 21-25, 19-25)
Qatar – China 2-3 (26-28, 25-21, 28-26, 19-25, 10-15)
Japan – Australia 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-23)
Pool F (Pakistan, Chinese Taipei, Iran, Korea)
Pakistan – Chinese Taipei 1-3 (20-25, 25-22, 23-25, 22-25)
Iran – Korea 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-20)
Pakistan – Korea 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-14)
Iran – Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-11)
Pool G (Kuwait, India, Uzbekistan, Bahrain)
India – Kuwait 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-20)
Bahrain – Uzbekistan 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-19)
India – Uzbekistan 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-22)
Bahrain – Kuwait 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19)
Pool H (Thailand, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia)
Thailand – Kazakhstan 1-3 (25-28, 23-25, 19-25, 22-25)
Hong Kong – Saudi Arabia 0-3 (12-25, 18-25, 19-25)
Hong Kong – Kazakhstan 0-3 (16-25, 21-25, 16-25)
Thailand – Saudi Arabia 1-3 (20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 22-25)
16 national teams were divided into 4 groups. Hosts Japan, India, Qatar and Bahrain were in Pool A, current Asian champions Iran, Pakistan, Thailand and Hong Kong China in Pool B, Pool C consisted of Australia, China, Uzbekistan and Kuwait, while in Pool D were Korea, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.
Pool A: Japan, India, Qatar, Bahrain
Pool B: Iran, Pakistan, Thailand, Hong Kong China
Pool C: Australia, China, Uzbekistan, Kuwait
Pool D: Korea, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia
In the 21st edition in Japan, the teams played in a single round-robin format during the preliminary round. The two best teams from each group advanced to the top 8 teams which are divided into group E (A, C) and group F (B, D) to play again in a single round-robin format with transferred results and points from the matches between teams from the same groups that had already played during the preliminary round.The two best teams from Pool E and Pool F will advance to the semifinals, while the other 4 teams will remain in competition from 5th to 8th place. The same game format will be applied to the remaining 8 lower-ranked teams.
