Taiwan Hammers Iran

Iran lost to Taiwan 3-0 in its second match at the 12th Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championships in Tabriz on Saturday.

Chang H.Y. and Jackman, an originally African player, provided the spark for Taiwan to finish with a gritty three-set victory (25-20, 25-23, and 25-19) over Asian powerhouse Iran at Poursharifi Gymnasium, According to the Asianvolleyball website.

It was an intriguing match between two high quality sides, but it was Taiwan which got the better in front of Iranian home crowd although it was far from easy against determined opposition.

Despite the individual efforts of some Iran players in making points, the team failed to win.

Iran’s No. 8 Amirhossein Hemmati was the scoring machine with 12 points while Bardia Sa’adat (9 points) was also influential. Iran was terrific, but was ultimately outgunned with the magnificent performance of the young Taiwanese.

Taiwan had Chang H.Y. to thank for a commanding attacking performance which yielded 12 points, but the star was also erratic with his serving.

Jackman (12 points) also produced some big moments. Taiwan often utilized a three-man blocking technique to great effect, but it was the team’s extra attacking flair that gave it the edge in a tight match.

Iran manager Reza Vakili accepted the result after the match and put the blame on no one but himself for not analyzing the rival.

“I do not want to underestimate the efforts of Taiwan,” said Vakili.  “And I have to confess that they deserved the victory and did better than us. I have to trust my players and let them find themselves in future.”

He also accepted mistakes made by his players and addressed the issue to their age and lack of experience in the international stages but also firmly said the mistakes will fade.

“We did not perform well today on our receptions and their attacks put my team into trouble. My players made so many mistakes that is very natural in this age but we should try to remove them,” Vakili added.

Speaking before the match Taiwan head coach Wang Teng-Chi commented, “we are happy to play in Iran. We respect Iran as the Asian powerhouses. We know it will be a tough match for us.”

Iranian volleyball players beat Thailand 3-1 on Friday in their first match of the Asian tournament.

The team is in Pool B along with Thailand and Taiwan.

 A total of 18 teams are participating in the games in six pools from June 29-July 6 in Tabriz, capital city of East Azarbaijan Province.