Japan, Iran, and the Republic of Korea started their participation in the Asian Men's Volleyball Championship in Fukuoka with victories. The tournament has huge stakes, as it is a qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, as well as for the 2027 World Cup.
The most interesting event on the first day came from the match of the host and reigning champion Japan. In front of about 6,500 spectators at the "Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium," the Japanese defeated Oman 3:1 (25:18, 25:13, 20:25, 25:9).
Oman surprised the big favorite in the third set, which they won 25:20, but the Japanese's reaction was decisive – 25:9 in the fourth.
Japan made a significant difference from the serve – 11 aces against only one for Oman. The hosts also made significantly fewer unforced errors – 15 against 28.
Ran Takahashi and captain Yuki Ishikawa finished with 19 points each, with the two scoring a total of five aces. Yuji Nishida added 14 points. For Oman, Osama Suleiman Salmin Al Mamari and Mahmoud Khalifa Mayouf Al Saadi recorded 13 points each.
However, the victory brought Japan an almost symbolic gain for the world ranking. The sixth-ranked team in the world added only 0.01 points and now has 333.34. The reason is the huge difference in the positions and ratings of the two teams, due to which the success over Oman was practically mandatory for the Japanese.
Iran allowed no intrigue against New Zealand and won 3:0 (25:15, 25:12, 25:22).
Interestingly, captain Amin Esmaeilnezhad started as a substitute and appeared during the second set, but nevertheless became the top scorer for Iran with 11 points. He finished with 10 successful attacks with an impressive 77% efficiency and added one ace.
Iran received a total of 33 points from New Zealand's errors, while the team itself made only eight. However, the New Zealanders had superiority in blocking – 7:3, as well as in aces – 3:2. Seth Dillon Grant was the top scorer in the match with 12 points.
The success also brought a more significant gain for Iran in the world ranking. The team, which is in 19th place, added 1.79 points and now has 207.39.
The Republic of Korea also started with three points after a 3:1 (29:27, 19:25, 25:15, 25:15) victory against Chinese Taipei.
The Koreans had problems in the first two sets, but after 1:1, they established clear superiority and won the next two with 25:15 each.
Subong Heo was number one for the winners with 19 points and an impressive 74% attack efficiency. Donghyeok Im added 18 points, including three aces and two blocks. The Republic of Korea made a huge difference in blocking – a total of 16 points from this element, with Changseong Park scoring five.
For Chinese Taipei, four volleyball players finished with double-digit scores – Wen Yi-Kai with 16 points, Chang Yu-Sheng with 14, Liu Yu Lin with 13, and Tsai Pei-Chang with 10.
It was the Republic of Korea that turned out to bethe big winner for the world ranking on the first day. The Koreans added 3.95 points for their victory and now have 144.10 points in 26th place.
Thus, the three favorites started with victories, but with very different benefits for the world ranking – Japan gained only 0.01 points, Iran added 1.79, and the Republic of Korea won 3.95.
The Asian Championship continues on September 5 with three more matches. At 04:00 Bulgarian time, Australia plays Bahrain, at 07:30 China meets India, and at 11:00 Qatar faces Thailand.
All matches from the Asian Championship are broadcast live and on demand on VBTV.