Iran masters third consecutive Asian Games title

Iran triumphed in the men’s volleyball tournament at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, defending its title from the previous two editions of the quadrennial multi-sport event in 2014 and 2018. Hosts China took the silver, while Japan completed the podium with bronze.

In Tuesday’s big final (pictured in the main photo; credits: volleyball.ir) at the Linping Sports Center Gymnasium, Iran claimed a 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-22, 26-24) comeback win over China, disappointing the home crowd in Hangzhou. The third gold medal was Iran’s seventh overall piece of hardware in the history of the competition. The country also has three silvers and a bronze in their collection. China failed to get back on the throne after winning the Asian Games three times, but not since 1998, picking up its fourth silver to bring their total medal count to nine.

With 19 points to his name, China’s Zhang Jing Yin was the best scorer of the final. He put away 14 spikes, three kill blocks and two aces. Shahrooz Homyoun Farmanesh fired four aces towards a total tally of 17 points to lead Iran towards the victory.

Iran celebrate as Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 men’s volleyball champions (Photo credits: volleyball.ir)

“The players worked hard towards this competition. Every tournament is important for us and thank god that we were able to finish this one with a gold medal. I think this was the first gold medal for Iran at this Asian Games,” said Iranian outside hitter Amirhossein Esfandiar. “Now we can travel to Brazil for the Olympic qualifiers with a high spirit. Hopefully we will get the job done and qualify for Paris 2024. We are going with all our strength and we are looking for the best result.”

Iran made a victorious run through the entire tournament, dropping only two sets in five matches played. In Monday’s semifinals, the team produced a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-22) win over Qatar. China also reached the gold medal match on a four-match winning streak, crowned by a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-21) sweep of their semifinal against the most decorated team in the history of the Asian Games, Japan.

After winning an epic first set of the third-place match with Qatar by a nail-biting 37-35, Japan secured their 13th Asian Games podium with a 3-1 (37-35, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23) victory. The eight-time champions and two-time runners-up picked up their third bronze medal.

Iran stun hosts China to complete Asia Games hat trick in Hangzhou 2022 Men's Volleyball Competition
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Pakistan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Bahrain, in that order, lined up in the places from fifth to 12th in the official final standings of the tournament.

The women’s volleyball tournament at Hangzhou 2022 is set to start on Saturday 30 September and last through 7 October.

Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 volleyball results