Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan clash at the 2011 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship
The two neighbouring countries, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, came face to face in the last match of the second round at the 2011 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship on Monday, September 26. The Azadi Hall 2 in the Iranian capital City of Tehran hosted the wonderful performance by the two teams. Turkmenistan stunned the Uzbek team with a 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20) victory and recorded its first win of the competition. Uzbekistan failed to break the ice and suffered another set-back in their campaign.
In the next run, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will be featured in the semi-finals for the 13th to16th positions on Wednesday. They are scheduled to take on Afghanistan and Chinese Taipei, respectively.
Gurban Yazgulyyev of Turkmenistan topped all scorers with his match-high 24 points. He played an instrumental role in leading the Turkmenistan team to victory. He recorded 19 kills on 39 attack attempts and earned five points on blocks. On the Uzbek side, Bobom was the highest scorer with 14 points. He put in a valiant effort but failed to overcome the tough rivals. Uzbeks could only secure one set in the entire match, which was not enough to save them from the loss.
Ruslan Artykov helped Turkmenistan get off to a fast start in the match. He served with a lot of accuracy and precision. With the help of straight aces, Turkmenistan jumped to an early lead and put the Uzbeks under pressure. The cross-court attacks by Yazgulyyev wrecked the defence line of Uzbekistan and allowed Turkmenistan to stretch the gap of points. Elyor of Uzbekistan tried to give some competition to Turkmenistan but the rising pressure hindered their performance. Turkmenistan cruised past to a 25-18 win in the opening set.
Uzbekistan fired back in the following set and attacked with Botir, who directed off shots in the corners and rare gaps. They put up a good effort and gradually got better in the game. Turkmenistan hit back and gave Uzbekistan a hard time with quick bump passes. On the other side of the net, Uzbeks were all set to take revenge. They showed persistent attacke and clinched success in the second set. Turkmenistan lagged behind and received a 22-25 defeat, which evened the game score at 1-1.
Third set was full of exciting moments as both teams played with a new determination. Turkmenistan bounced back in the game and they started out with powerful serves and led the scores. The early strike of volleys by Gurban helped Turkmenistan to retake control of operations. The Uzbeks went off the track with too many unforced mistakes, while Turkmenistan extended its lead to 2-1 by winning a third set by 25-20.
Fourth set was another success story for Turkmenistan as they demonstrated sensible play and defeated Uzbekistan once again by 25-20.
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