Sports Desk :
Title-hotshots Iran overpowered formidable Chinese Taipei in epic five-set thriller 19-25 22-25 25-22 25-20 15-12 to set up a clash of the titans in the final showdown against Korea in the inaugural Asian Men’s U-23 Volleyball Championship at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.
The Iran’s nail-biting win over Chinese Taipei and Korea’s grueling hard-fought 22-25 25-20 25-16 20-25 15-10 victory over China in the Tuesday’s semi-finals of the top-flight competition have earned both Iran and Korea places in the FIVB Men’s U23 World Championship in Dubai, the UAE from August 24 to 31 as only two tickets are on offer for the Asia’s top two teams to test their mettle in the world meet.
The tough clash between Chinese Taipei and Iran saw the former start strongly to capture the first two sets 25-19 and 25-22. The third set was briefly dominated by Chinese Taipei as they took an initial 4-0 lead and widened the gap to 8-4 before the latter gradually clawed their ways back, fielding brilliant Hosseinipouya Seyedmohaadreza and Javaheri Tavana Saeid. Both became the Iran’s scoring machines to tear the Chinese Taipei’s defence into shreds to help their team clinch the remaining three sets 25-22 25-20 15-12 for an eventual 3-2 victory.
