GUANGZHOU, China, Nov 26, (AFP): Resurgent Japan outlasted Iran 3-1 Friday to win the Asian Games men’s volleyball gold medal for the first time in 16 years, in a repeat of last year’s Asian championship final.
Japan, who spiked South Korea’s bid for a third straight title with a 3-2 win in the semi-finals, took the first set 25-19 against two-time silver medallists Iran as Kota Yamamura and Takaaki Tomimatsu blocked their spikes.
Iran brought in a string of substitutions in an effort to kill off Japan’s momentum.
But Japan forged ahead to win the second set 25-13 before losing the third 25-23 when Iran’s spiking accuracy came back with Arash Kamalvand and Mirsaeid Marouf leading their offensive.
After swapping the lead until 12-12 in the fourth stanza, Japan piled up six straight points with Kunihiro Shimizu dominating on kills, reception and blocks.
Iran could not close the gap to less than five points and Kota Yamamura’s cross-court spike at 24-18 match point sealed Japan’s eighth title since volleyball made its Asiad debut in 1958.
Japan, who dominated the Asiad men’s game continuously from 1958 to 1974, also whipped Iran 3-1 in the Asian championship final with South Korea third in Manila a year ago.
South Korea, three-time Asiad champions, settled for the bronze medal after beating whipped Thailand in straight sets.
“Our goal was the gold medal, but the fact was we lost. We cannot change the result,” said 25-year-old Park, who scored a team-high 15 points including 13 spikers in the last match of his first Asian Games.
“All we can do is to make adjustments and find our best form so that we can try our best and play at our best level in future games,” he added.
Thai spiker Jirayu Raksakaew, who scored a game-high 19 points, said: “We have enhanced our training since four years ago, and we had participated in many games in Asia. That’s why we can get this far.”