Iran and Japan Volleyball Teams Reach Final of Asian Championship

The volleyball teams of Iran and Japan have reached the final of the 2015 Asian Championship by defeating their rivals. Iran secured its third consecutive appearance in the final match by winning 3-2 against China. The team, coached by Peyman Akbari, managed to come back after losing the first two sets with scores of 25-21 and 25-20. The momentum shifted in the third set, where Iran, having nothing to lose, played with full enthusiasm and won unexpectedly 25-9, marking the most one-sided score for Iran in the tournament. In the fourth set, the Iranian players, boosted by their morale and significant support from the audience, won 25-19. In the fifth set, both teams reached 14 points, but Iran took the next two points to become Japan's opponent in the final. Piroutpour was named the top scorer of the match with 21 points. The Iranian team consisted of Mohammad Tahrir Vadi, Masoud Gholami, Pourya Fayyazi, Farhad Piroutpour, Mostafa Sharifat, Reza Safaei, and Ali Hossein. Head coach Slobodan Kovac was also present in the hall. Mohammad Tahrir Vadi, Iran's setter, stated to reporters that they believe they can become champions, saying, 'To be champions, we must face a team that few expected to reach the finals. We have good knowledge of Japan. I hope our supporters will be with us to finish the tournament with a happy memory.' In another semifinal match, Japan, despite losing the first set to Qatar, managed to defeat Juan Cichlo's team 3-1 to reach the final. Iranian spectators cheered for the Japanese team, which had Iranian coach Ahmad Masajedi on the bench. Thus, China, which has not won the championship since 1999, will face the surprise team of Qatar for the bronze medal. Peyman Akbari stated in a press conference, 'Everyone predicted that China would be one foot in the final. They took away our opportunity to think in two games, and our players were asleep, but afterwards, we had nothing to lose, and the players fought with the right mindset until the end of the game and did not allow us to lose.' The Iranian head coach also commented on his predictions for the championship team, saying, 'Japan's assistant coach, Ahmad Masajedi, has good knowledge of us. However, this knowledge is not enough, and the players are the main executors for determining the outcome.'