Foolad Sirjan Also Qualifies for World Championship/ All-Iranian Final in Yazd

Foolad Sirjan Iranian volleyball team secured a spot in the 2024 World Championship by defeating the representative from Indonesia, advancing to the final of the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, making it an all-Iranian final.

According to the Communications Department of the Volleyball Federation, the semifinals of the 26th Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship continued today (Friday, September 13) with four matches at Shahdab Yazd’s Hall.

Foolad Sirjan (Iran) and Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia) faced off at 8 PM in the final match of the day. Foolad Sirjan won the match 3-2 with scores of 25-22, 23-25, 22-25, 25-21, and 16-14, securing a place in the final and a spot in the World Club Championship. This match was also the first five-set match of the tournament.

On their way to the final, Foolad Sirjan defeated three opponents (Kam Air, Gas Al Janoob, and Al Rayyan Qatar) in the preliminary round and beat the representative from Kuwait in the first knockout round to advance to the semifinals. Today, they defeated the Indonesian representative to reach the final.

Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia), one of the championship contenders, lost their first preliminary match to Shahdab but went on to defeat the representatives from Kuwait and Kazakhstan. In the quarterfinals, they eliminated Al Rayyan Qatar to reach the semifinals.

In the first set of this intense and breath-taking match, Ataei’s players competed with full readiness, but the Indonesian stars did not give up and followed the Sirjanis point by point. The Sirjanis, with teamwork, managed to win the first set 25-22.

In the second set, the Indonesian players increased their pressure, and mistakes by Ataei’s players allowed the Indonesians to widen the point gap. The Sirjanis tried to make up for their mistakes but their efforts were not enough, and they lost the set 25-23.

In the third set, the conditions were equal for both teams, but the experience and intelligence of the Indonesian stars prevailed over Sirjan. Ataei constantly changed his lineup to compensate for the results, but the changes did not work, and inadequate receptions and defenses led to Sirjan losing the set 25-22, pushing the match to the fourth set.

In the fourth set, the competition became intense and challenging for both teams. Both played with maximum effort to avoid missing any opportunities. The atmosphere in the court significantly impacted the players of both teams. Ataei’s players continually tried to correct their mistakes, and their efforts paid off as they won the set 25-21, pushing the match to the fifth set.

In the fifth set, we witnessed an incredible rally between both teams, each striving for victory and refusing to lose. Ultimately, Sirjan triumphed with a score of 16-14, defeating Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia) and becoming the second Iranian team to reach the final of this competition.

Foolad Sirjan’s lineup for this match included captain Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, Mojtaba Mirzajanpour, Mohammad Valizadeh, Ali Ramezani, Ali Hajipour, Amirhossein Esfandiar, and libero Mahdi Marandi. Esfandiar and Hajipour had outstanding performances, scoring 25 and 24 points respectively, making them the best players for Foolad Sirjan.

With this victory, Foolad Sirjan will face Shahdab Yazd in an all-Iranian final on Sunday for the championship title. Meanwhile, Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia) and Pavlodar Volleyball Club (Kazakhstan) will compete for third place.

The referees for this match were Fahad Mohammed Al Awadi from Qatar and Faisal Alshamiri from Kuwait. Foolad Sirjan played in front of more than 3,000 spectators, including men and women, young and old, at the 6,000-seat Shahdab Yazd hall.

Notably, Milad Taghavi, President of the Volleyball Federation, Li Do-hee, head coach of the Iranian women’s national volleyball team, Mohammad Reza Amani, manager of Foolad Sirjan Iranian Sports Club, and several political and sports officials from the province were special guests at this match.