Sirjan Foulad Crowned Iranian Men’s Super League Champions

Tehran, Iran, March 17, 2021 – Sirjan Foulad underlined their supremacy over the Iranian Men’s Volleyball Super League after a pulsating 3-1 (25-23, 30-28, 21-25, 25-21) win against Urmia Shahrdari in the decider of the best-of-three final at Federation Hall on Tuesday.

Talented Saber Kazemi chipped in with 29 points for Sirjan Foulad including 24 attacks from 46 attempts, while Rahman Davoudi kept good company to add 12 markers. Meisam Salehi led Urmia Shahrdari with 23 points including 22 attacks.

Sirjan Foulad opened up their final clash against Urmia Shahrdari with the 2-3 loss in the first match, but struck back to beat the same rivals in straight sets in their second encounter.

Sirjan Foulad, newly-formed and the mid-season winners, finished their preliminary round in fourth place and advanced to the final round following their two consecutive wins over Sepahan Foulad, the top team after the 30-week preliminaries.

Sirjan Foulad were crowned champions in the 34th Iranian Men’s Super League after playing 33 matches with 26 wins and seven losses recorded. More interestingly, the champions did not lose a single match in straight sets. Their seven losses ended either 2-3 or 1-3.

Urmia, the cradle city of volleyball in Iran, had always been represented by many clubs in the Super League, but neither of the teams could make it that far to reach the top step of the podium. In their 10th presence in the Iranian Men’s Super League, Urmia Shahrdari could not improve their best record of claiming silver. During their 10-year presence in the Super League, Urmia Shahrdari snatched two silver medals including the recently-concluded 2020-2021 season plus four bronze medals.

Dr Masoud Soltanifar, Iran’s Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, watched the final match which lasted around 2.35 hours. IRIVF President Dr Davarzani and Dr Alinezhad, Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, along with Mr Ghalenoei, the football head coach of Sirjan Club, also attended this highly-anticipated match as VIP spectators.