Russia and Iran downed their respective semi-final opponents to set the stage for a final showdown today in the 2017 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship, which is being held at Shaikh Isa Sports City in Riffa.
Russia stunned previously unbeaten Japan 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 30-28), while Iran kept their undefeated streak going with a similar 3-0 triumph (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) against Korea.
The gold medal match is scheduled for a 7pm start today at the same venue. It will be a re-match of the bronze medal contest in the 2015 edition of the FIVB under-19 tournament, when Iran defeated Russia in four sets.
This year’s bronze medal game between continental powerhouses Japan and Korea will be played at 3pm. It will be a re-match of the final of the 2017 Asian championship held just last April, when the Japanese won in straight sets.
Other placement matches will also take place today from 11am onwards. All are welcome to attend all of the final day’s action. Entrance is 500 fils and tickets can be purchased at the gate.
In classification matches yesterday, Bahrain defeated Cuba 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-16). They are still competing for the best final classification between 13th and 16th place. Also competing in the same bracket, Puerto Rico defeated USA 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 30-28, 25-23).
In placing for fifth to eighth, France beat the Czech Republic 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21) while Egypt beat Brazil 3-0 (33-31, 25-15, 25-19).
In placing for ninth to 12th, China beat Argentina 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 25-22, 23-25, 18-16) and Italy beat Turkey 3-2 (28-26, 16-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-8).
In the 17-20 bracket, Poland swept by Mexico 3-0 (25-16, 29-27, 25-23) while Tunisia beat Chile 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 25-11).
Poland were therefore ranked 17th overall on the final standings, followed by Mexico in 18th, Chile in 19th and Tunisia in 20th.
In Russia’s win over Japan, Pavel Tetyukhin led the victors with 21 points and he also had four blocks in the game. Ivan Kuznetcov added another 15 points while Stanislav Antonov registered 13 points.
“The match was not easy,” said Russia head coach Nozdrin Andrey. “It was a very hard match – very nervous, very dangerous match.
“This is the end of the tournament and all the teams are now very tired. I cannot say that we are heading into the final 100% or 50%; I do not know. All I know is that all the teams are very tired. To play in this kind of tournament, you must have very good physical preparation.”
Russia captain Konstantin Abaev added: “We are happy to win today. Team Japan is a very nice team. They have very nice digs; very nice defence; very nice opposite spikers, maybe the best in the whole tournament.
“Today we had a good game because we had nice service and nice blocking. It’s not a surprise for my team to win like this. We know our capabilities and we know we can play in the final.”
Heroics
In Iran’s big win, Porya Yali top scored for the winners with 21 points. Team captain Amirhossein Esfandiar added 10, while Amir Hossein Toukhteh and Morteza Sharifi each had nine points, with Toukhteh registering five blocks.
“We had some very good team play today,” said Iran head coach Reza Farjad. “Two years ago, we took the bronze medal against Russia and now we need to improve on that.
“I think our team and the Russian team are equal. There is a chance for both teams to win. It is a matter of who has more motivation to win; I think this will be key.”
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