On the last day of the Asian Championship in Japan, the matches for placement and the grand final for the title of the best national team of Asia were on the schedule. Iran defended the title won two years ago, while China returned to the podium for the first time in 6 years by winning the match for third place.
In the match for the gold medal, Iran defeated Japan 3-0 and thus won the second consecutive Asian title (2019, 2021). Iran and Japan also secured a place at the World Championship in Russia next year.
In the match for third place, China defeated the surprise of the tournament, Chinese Taipei 3-0 and returned to the continental top by winning a bronze medal.
They won a bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Championships and it was their last big result until this year. China won the title three times, 1979, 1997 and 1999. They finished 6th in the previous edition held in Tehran, Iran in 2019. The bronze medal winners were led by their captain Jiang Chuan who scored 16 points, while Zhang Jingyin added another 10 points for China.
Qatar won 5th place with a victory over Australia, while Pakistan beat Korea in the fight for seventh place.
Finals
Gold medal match
Japan – Iran 0-3 (25-27, 22-25, 29-31)
Bronze medal match
Kina – Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-17)
5th place match
Qatar – Australia 3-0 (25-21, 25-11, 25-23)
7th place match
Pakistan – Korea 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 28-26)
1-4 place matches:
Semifinals
China – Iran 1-3 (22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 17-25)
Chinese Taipei – Japan
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.
1 comment
Iran worth it