Tag Archives: Volleyball

Undefeated Iran is Youth Volleyball World Champion 2017

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Iran succeeded in their gold medal hunt as they defeated Russia 3-1, winning its second title in the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship. Japan defeated South Korea for the bronze medal. Amir Hossein Esfandiar from Iran was elected the MVP and Amir Hossein Toukhteh was selected in the tournament’s dream team.

Porya Yali, Morteza Sharifi and Amirhossein Esfandiar dominated in offence as they combined for 54 of Iran’s 59 attacks. Yali led Iran in scoring with 29 points, Sharifi charted 19 points and was Iran’s most efficient hitter, while Esfandiar played consistently across all skill sets. Maksim Sapozhkov, who came off the bench in the second set, top scored for Russia with 16 points.

RESULTS (Iran)
Iran 3 : 2 Italy (25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Mexico (25-19, 25-12, 25-18) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 China (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Czech Republic (25-22, 25-12, 25-19) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Turkey (25-18, 25-21, 25-13) – Round of 16
Iran 3 : 0 Brazil (25-21, 25-20, 25-15) – Quarterfinals
Iran 3 : 0 South Korea (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) – Semifinals
Russia 1 : 3 Iran (20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25) – Final

Iranian team posing with their medals. Photo source fivb.com
Amir Hossein Toukhteh (best middle blocker, Iran), Pavel Tetyukhin (best outside spiker, Russia), Artem Melnikov (best middle blocker, Russia), Amirhosseini Esfandiar (MVP and best outside spiker, Iran), Shunsuke Nakamura (best setter, Japan), Im Donghyeok (best opposite spiker, Korea) and Kenta Ichikawa (best libero, Japan). Photo source fivb.com
Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran) – Gold medal winner, MVP and best outside spiker. Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Porya Yali’s 29 points helped Iran to take down European powerhouse Russia to win gold. Photo source facebook.com-FIVB.InternationalVolleyballFederation
Individual honors: Best Outside Spikers – Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran). Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Individual honors: Best Outside Spikers – Pavel Tetyukhin (Russia) and Amirhosseini Esfandiar (MVP, Iran). Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Iranian team waiting for their gold medals. Photo source fivb.com
Iranian team celebrating after defeating Russia in the final 3 to 1. Photo source Payam Sani, YJC
Iranian team welcomed at the airport in Tehran. Photo credit BORNA

DREAM TEAM
Most Valuable Player: Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran)
Best Outside Spikers: Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran), Pavel Tetyukhin (Russia)
Best Middle Blockers: Artem Melnikov (Russia), Amir Hossein Toukhteh (Iran)
Best Setter: Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan)
Best Opposite Spiker: Im Donghyeok (South Korea)
Best Libero: Kenta Ichikawa (Japan)

The 2017 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship was the fifteenth edition of the world championship for men’s national teams under the age of 19. The tournament was hosted by Bahrain in Riffa from 18 to 27 August 2017. 20 teams from the 5 confederations competed in the tournament.

Sources: FIVB | U19 Boys 2017 (News), Wikipedia | 2017 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship, Young Journalists Club, Borna News, IRNA

Rio 2016: Iran men’s volleyball team realise Olympic dream after 52 years of waiting (Photos)

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Iran achieved a historic feat as they earned their first-ever Olympic Games qualification, after they handed world champion Poland their first defeat in the tournament 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 34-32) at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Hosts Japan were joined by the three best ranked Asian teams (Iran, Australia and China), the second and third teams from the European Olympic Qualification Tournament (France and Poland), as well as the second placed teams from the South American and NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournaments (Venezuela and Canada).

Mohammad Mousavi was the tournament’s best blocker, Saeid Marouf was best setter and Milad Ebadipour was best receiver.

The foundation of the current Iranian team was created nearly 10 years ago. At that time, Iran was 26th in the FIVB Rankings, behind other Asian teams. Today, Iran is ranked 8th in the world  and, as the strongest Asian team, they have won the 2011 and 2013 Asian Volleyball Championships and the 2014 Asian Games.

Iran team’s manager, Mr. Khoshkhabar, in the changing room after the match against Poland: He promised the team that he would shave his beard off when Iran qualified for Olympics.

Sources: FIVB, FIVB Men World Olympic Qualification Tournament (WOQT) Japan 2016, WOQT Japan 2016, The Japan Times, Wikipedia | Iran men’s national volleybal team, FIVB World Rankings (2015.10), WOQT Japan 2016 (Iran-Venezuela), WOQT Japan 2016 (Iran-Poland), Tasnim News Agency (Iran-Poland), Tasnim News Agency (Iran-Japan), WOQT Japan 2016 (Iran-France)

Iran wins 3rd place in FIVB U19 Volleyball World Championship 2015 in Argentina

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An incredible tournament-high production of 40 points from Iranian star Rasoul Aghchehli ejected the Asians to a remarkable bronze medal as they won over previous champions Russia 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 25-16, 25-23).

Iranian captain worked at their maximum and he completed 36 spikes and 4 blocks, to break all previous records. Rasoul was escorted by Mirbabak Mousavigargari and Aliasghar Mojarad, with 13 and 12 points respectively. On top of that, Rasoul won a terrific battle of opposites over powerful Russian Dmitry Yakovlev, who led his side with 26 tallies. Yakovlev had in middle-blocker Aleksandr Melnikov his best supporter with 13 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Iranian machinery.

 

Iran finished second behind Poland on the group stage, winning against Germany on the round of 16 and although they were only a few inches away from elimination, Iran resurged from ashes and achieved a spectacular return to rule out Italy 3:2 (17:25, 22:25, 25:20, 25:20, 15:11) and move to semifinals, where they lost against champion Poland 3:1.

Iran improved his previous run with the step onto the podium, as they were left out on the very verge of it on Mexico 2013, finishing fourth. Russia fell out of the top, as the gold medal will now change hands.

Iran U19 national volleyball team
Iran’s youth team have won seven gold medals and a silver medal – the best record in this age group in the Asian region. Last year, the team earned the qualification ticket to the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship in Argentina after an unbeaten run in the continental championship. The result is the product of a long-term project of Iran to serve as a farm of talents for the senior men’s team. In the World Championship, Iranian youth have been a consistent force in the final, finishing with a gold medal in 2007, two silver medals in 2001 and 2009, a bronze medal in 2003, and a fourth place finish in the last edition.

Source: 2015 U19 FIVB Men Volleyball Championship | News, FIVB | Press releases, 2015 U19 FIVB Men Volleyball Championship | Iran

John Speraw, U.S. men’s national volleyball team head coach: “Iranians are wonderful people”

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“My first impression was that everyone here has been incredibly hospitable. Everyone has been very nice. They have gone out of their way to make sure that we had really nice experience here. I think we have enjoyed it tremendously.”

“We had the opportunity to get out into the city one day. We went to the [Milad Tower] and learning a little more about Tehran, and I think that is good for us. We went to a nice lunch on the [Darakeh] hills. I think we wanted to do those things because I think we are all aware that the portrait of the relationship between Iran and the United States is inaccurate in the media. Probably on both sides, my guess.”

IRAN – USA – 2015 World League match, Tehran, Iran – June 19, 2015
US national volleyball team visiting Milad Tower in Tehran (Photo credit: TPA)
US national volleyball team visiting Milad Tower in Tehran (Photo credit: TPA)
US national volleyball team visiting Milad Tower in Tehran (Photo credit: Instagram@maxwellholt)

“What I know and have known from spending time with Iran and the United States both last year and this year is that the relationship between the people is not reflective of the relationship between our governments and that the Iranian people are wonderful people and have treated us kindly.”

“I think we have shown the same because America is a wonderful country with wonderful people too. Yes, it a great place, so the message we would bring back is this: it was a great trip and we look forward to coming here again. And I think we have much better understanding of what the environment is both inside the arena and outside.”

Iran coach Slobodan Kovac added: “I want to say something about this. We want to return this hospitality (Mr. Speraw said about); last year we stayed in the USA for more than fifteen days. Everything was perfect. They gave us the maximum things to prepare for world championship.”

Read all posts on this blog related to USA-Iran here: https://theotheriran.com/category/usa/

IRAN - USA -- USA & Iran national coaches at the press conference before the match

Speraw and Kovac in press conference before the match on June 19 (Photo credit: FIVB)

About John Speraw and Slobodan Kovač
John Speraw is an American volleyball coach. He is the head coach of the United States men’s volleyball team and UCLA. He was the former coach of UC Irvine volleyball program where he led the team to three national titles in six years. Speraw graduated from UCLA in 1995 with a B.S. degree in micro-biology and molecular genetics.

Slobodan Kovač is a Serbian former volleyball player and current coach. He is coaching Iran men’s national volleyball team until the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Previously competing for Yugoslavia, he won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and won his first gold medal with the Yugoslav team at Sydney at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Source: FIVB | World League 2015 | News, Wikipedia | John Speraw, Wikipedia | Slobodan Kovač, TPA | US national volleyball team visited Milad Tower, Tasnim News | Photos

Volleyball: World League 2015 – Iran wins against previously unbeaten USA

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Shahram Mahmoudi scored 17 points to lead Iran to a 3-0 (25-19, 29-27, 25-20 victory over the previously unbeaten USA. The first leg in Los Angeles ended with a 3-1 triumph for the USA. Today’s match report: FIVB | World League 2015 | News

Iran is in Pool B with Poland, Russia and the US. Previously Iran defeated twice Olympic champion Russia on home soil but lost both games to Poland early June in Czestochowa, Poland. At the 2014 World League Iran finished on 4th place behind USA, Brazil and Italy.

Other related Iran-USA articles: The other Iran | USA

IRAN – USA – 2015 World League match, Tehran, Iran – June 19, 2015
IRAN – USA in Tehran on June 19th, 2015
IRAN – USA in Tehran on June 19th, 2015
IRAN – USA in Tehran on June 19th, 2015
IRAN – USA — USA & Iran national coaches at the press conference before the match
IRAN – USA –Press conference before the match
US national volleyball team visiting Milad Tower in Tehran (Photo credit: Instagram @kshoji7)
US national volleyball team visiting Milad Tower in Tehran (Photo credit: TPA)
US national volleyball team visiting Milad Tower in Tehran (Photo credit: TPA)

Sources: FIVB, Press TV | News, TPA (Tehran Press Agency) | US national volleyball team visited Milad Tower, Fars News Agency | Photos, Tasnim News Agency | Photos, IRNA | Photos

Iran’s national team: Latest successes in water polo, volleyball and taekwondo

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Water polo: Iran crowned FINA World Water Polo Development Trophy champion
Iran mantained its undefeated record in the 5th FINA World Water Polo Development Trophy with a 13-5 win over powerhouse Uruguay in the final match. In front of cheering crowd, team Melli won its second water polo gold medal in the nation’s history after 41 years. Iran had claimed the gold medal in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. On its way to the final, Iran defeated Tunisia, Indonesia, Guatemala and Austria.

Launched in 2007, the FINA Water Polo Development Trophy gathers teams from nations in Africa, the Americas and Asia where it is still not a major sport, seeking to develop water polo on a global level.

Volleyball U23 - 2015 Asian Championship - Iran (Gold medal)Volleyball: Iran won Asian Men’s U23 Volleyball Championship
Iran confirmed their strong form at the Asian Men’s U23 Volleyball Championship by powering past formidable Korea 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-21) in a thrilling final showdown to become
the first team in history to capture the championship. Iran and Korea qualify for the  FIVB Volleyball Men’s U23 World Championship in Dubai, UAE, from August 24-31, 2015.

It was another remarkable success for Iran, who have made a clean sweep of all the Asian men’s age group titles, also including the Asian Youth Boys’ U18 Championship in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2014, the Asian Men’s Junior U20 Championship in Manama, Bahrain in 2014 and the Asian Senior Men’s Championship in Dubai, the UAE in 2013.

Taekwondo: Iran took the men’s overall title; Gold for Khodabakhshi and Ashourzadeh; Bronze for Yaghoubi and Kimia Alizadeh
Iran took the men’s overall title with three gold medals and one bronze for a total of 65 points, followed by Russia and Uzbekistan at the 2015 WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

In the men’s -58kg category Farzan Ashourzadeh Fallah known as “The Tsunami” won gold over Belgium’s Si Mohammed Ketbi in the final showdown.In the men’s -80kg division, Iranian Mahdi Khodabakhshi took the gold. In the male -63kg category Iran’s Abolfazi Yaghoubi Jouybar won bronze. Iran’s Bijan Moghanlou was selected as the best male team coach.

Kimia Alizadeh ist the first Iranian woman to win a medal at the World Taekwondo Championships. Alizadeh defeated Olympic gold medal winner Jade Jones 10-9 in the quarterfinals round but lost to Mayu Hamada from Japan 5-3 in the semifinals and claimed the bronze medal.

Sources: FINA Trophy 2015 | News, FINA Trophy 2015 | Gallery Iran-Uruguay, FIVB | News, WTF | News, Tasnim News Agency | News, World Taekwondo United News 1, World Taekwondo United News 2, ISNA | Photos

Iran beat China to lift U-20 Asian volleyball crown

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2014 Asian U20 Men Volleyball Championship in Bahrain - Gold Medal Match - Iran 3 - China 0_01

The Iranian team wearing their gold medals

Iran has pulled off a stunning straight-sets victory over China to take gold at the 17th Asian U20 Men’s Volleyball Championships in Bahrain. A match billed as a clash of the Asian junior titans became a volleyball clinic, with Iran strolling to its fifth Asian U20 title, all achieved in the past nine championships.

With the exception of the first five points of the match, which China won, Iran was in total control. The seeds were sown in the sixth point of the opening set, when Rahman Taghizadeh rose to block a Runtao Xia spike. That block not only stopped the Chinese momentum, it also signaled a change in direction for his teammates. […]

Zhejia Zhang, the Chinese blocking machine later named the tournament’s best middle blocker, managed just one for the night. Runtao Xia, later to be named best outside spiker, was restricted to just seven points.

Iran played almost all its pool matches with just ten players, after visa problems left two of its players cooling their heels in Tehran. […]

“They worked very hard for this, working, working, working, step-by-step. Today the players showed they were one team and they were the best in the competition.”

It was a powerful display by Iran, and guarantees Asia will be well served at next year’s U23 World Championships in Mexico. “In 2007 I was with the Iran youth team when we won the gold medal, and I hope next year we can repeat history and win another gold medal,” coach Farhad said.

Final result: Iran vs. China 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-19)

Iranian supporters in Manama, Bahrein, at the 2014 Asian junior men’s volleyball championship
Iranian team members celebrate their victory
Iranian defensive wall

Final standings – TOP 5
1. IRAN
2. CHINA
3. KOREA
4. BAHRAIN
5. JAPAN

Individual awards
Best setter: Yu Yaochen (China)
Best outside spiker: Valaei Akbar (Iran)
Best outside spiker: Xia Runtao (China)
Best middle blocker: Alla Verdian Sahand (Iran)
Best middle blocker: Zhang Zhejia (China)
Best libero: Lee Sanguk (Korea)
Best opposite spiker: Mohamed Anan (Bahrain)
Most valuable player: Mohammadjavad Manavinezhad (Iran)

Source: asianvolleyball.org