China – Iran
In a 2010 final rematch, the FIVB world No. 15 China and old foes Iran, the team they suffered a bitter 2-3 loss in the pool preliminaries earlier, started almost with the same style, using their amazing power and exceptional skills.
However, China performed superbly to push the Iran’s aggression to the limit. The formidable Chinese took the thrilling first set 25-18.
Their confidence went sky-high following the remarkable win in the opener and China still took control in the second set, with hefty Dai Qingyao producing lightning-fast spikes to gain valuable points for his team in some critical moments. Despite putting up a brave fight, Iran failed to make their mark to go down 14-25 in the set.
Cheered on by nerve-wracking, noisy crowds of more than 2,000 who apparently threw in their full supports to Iran, the Asia’s powerhouses came to life in the third set. The 210cm Mohammad Hassan Senobar, the tournament’s tallest player, and Ali Sajadi were the Iran’s comeback when both scored several points from their devastating spikes.
Learning that the Iranians proved too strong in this set, Chinese head coach Xie Guochen decided to rest his best players and replace them with substitutions including Ji Daoshuai and Cui Jianjun. With the drastically-improved teamwork, Iran captured the one-sided battle 25-13.
The fourth set became more thrilling when both teams were locked in a tight battle. Iran got off to a confident start to lead 10-6, thanks to great serves of Mahammadreza Soleymani and effective blocking from Mohammad Hassan Senobar and Alireza Jadidi.
Dai Qingyao silenced the Iran’s cheering supporters with his spectacular spikes to help his team come close at 13-15. From then, it was like a “catch me if you can” game when Iran attempted hard to hold the rivals off and China sped up to move ahead.
Mohammad Hassan Senobar and Mohammadreza Soleymani blocked Chinese Zhong Weijun for the Iran’s 23-22 lead, but a short time later Dai Qingyao attacked the Iranian blockers to tie it 23-23. Dai himself served out wide, allowing the rivals a set point. However, Zhong Weijun executed a deadly spike to save the day for China. The scores were tied again at 24-24.
From then on, the battle turned out to be a heart-pounding match when both sides gave it all-out to win the set. At 29-29, a serve from Alireza Jadidi went wide, giving the Chinese another match-point to try. Dai Qingyao and Liang Chunlong solidly blocked Mohammad Hassan Senobar to put the icing on the victory cake of China. The Chinese captured the exhausting set 31-29 and the historic championship.
Zhang Chen scored a match-high 22 points for China, while Ali Sajjadi topscored 19 points for Iran.
After the match, the Chinese players celebrated their victory by having their hands over ones’ shoulders and ran cheerfully into a circle. They shouted in great joy and helped lift head coach Xie Guochen and throw him into the air.
The victory was a sweet revenge for China, which lost to Iran in the final showdown of the 2010 AVC Cup for Men and the 2011 Asian Championship, both held in Iran.
The victory also stopped the remarkable winning streak of the consecutive two-time winners Iranians and carried China to the victory podium for the first time in history of the AVC Cup for Men.
