Iran sweeps Afghanistan in Pool A match of the 16th Asian Senior Men's Volleyball Championship
A Pool A match of the 16th Asian Senior Men's Volleyball Championship took place on September 21 in Tehran, Iran, between squads from Iran and Afghanistan. The home crowd at Azadi Hall No. 1 were not disappointed as the Iranian squad quickly dismantled the
Afghan team in a three set demolition.
Iran’s dominating performance started form the first set as the opening set was an easy task for Iran. However, the Afghani players stepped up their game in the second set. Afghanistan could not keep up the hard work for long and gradually fell behind. A
two set advantage got the Iranians going and backed with the enthusiasm of the home crowd, Iran was able to seal the deal on the match at the following final set scores: 25-13, 25-19 and 25-8.
The attack and defence of the Iranians were both stronger than that of Afghanistan and it played an integral role in the decisive win that Iran was able to achieve over their opponents. Despite the fact that Iran was a much stronger team, Afghanistan showed
glimpses of talent and professionalism as it dealt with the powerful plays of the Iranians. Had it not been for the good spirit of the Afghanis, the match would have been over a lot quicker.
The start of the opening set of the game saw both teams play equally well but soon Afghanistan was able to feel the building pressure of the Iranians as they increased their offensive maneuvers. The Iranian captain, Alireza Nadi, was pretty effective in
his attacks and was able to lead his team to an advantage. Gradually, the margin between the score increased and Afghanistan kept on trailing behind as Iran sailed smoothly towards a win at 25-13.
The first set win generated more confidence in the Iranians and they were able to start of the second set forcefully. The attack of the Iranians found gaps in the Afghani defence but the Afghanistan team held on and was able to trail closely behind all through.
Despite the effort of the Afghani players, Iran could not be stopped from moving on towards another win at 25-19.
A two set deficit got the spirits of the Afghani players down and their pace visibly slackened in the third set of the game. Iran was soaring high on a two set win as a result of which they were able to bag the third and final set of the match at 25-8.
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