In an electrifying final of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship 2023 held in Bahrain, Iran celebrated a resounding victory over Italy, seizing the championship throne they had previously held in 2019.
This nerve-racking five-set final marked Iran’s second gold medal in the competition’s history, reinstating their stronghold in the global volleyball arena. The silver in Manama was a bittersweet achievement for the Italian squad, marking their third consecutive, and overall eighth U21 World Championship medal. Bulgaria stood tall on the podium with a bronze medal, making it their third podium finish in the history of the U21 Championship.
In the exhilarating championship match, Iran managed to eke out a 3-2 win over Italy, with set scores of 25-20, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-9. Amir Mohammad Golzadeh emerged as Iran’s top scorer with a contribution of 20 points, followed by Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh Firouzjah’s vital 18-point addition. On the Italian side, Alessandro Bovolenta stood out as the match’s highest scorer with 21 points, closely followed by Mattia Orioli with 17 points.
Bulgaria clinched the bronze medal by confidently outperforming Argentina with a clean 3-0 sweep in the bronze medal match. The match ended with set scores of 25-22, 28-26, 25-19. Georgi Tatarov emerged as the standout player, amassing the match-high of 19 points, supported by Aleksandar Nikolov’s solid 16 points. Argentina’s top scorer, Fausto Diaz, concluded the match with 11 points.
