Volleyball Nations League:
Olympic aspirations fading away as Iran hits rock bottom in Week 1
Iran left Rio de Janeiro empty-handed after falling to a fourth successive defeat in Week 1 of the Volleyball Nations League.
Having suffered 3-1 losses to Serbia and Cuba either side of straight-set defeat against reigning world champion Italy, Mauricio Motta Paes’s men produced a much-improved performance on Sunday but were still beaten by Argentina, which rallied from behind twice for a 3-2 win (23-25, 31-29, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13) in the Maracanãzinho venue.
Outside-hitter Morteza Sharifi chipped in a game-high 26 points – including double aces – with fellow-Iranian opposite spiker Amin Esmaeilnejad scoring 24, while Bruno Lima was the most prolific Argentine with 20 points, followed by middle-blocker Nicolas Zerba, who finished on 16.
The result left Iran rock bottom of the 16-team table, while it saw the Asian side drift further away from a place in July’s Paris Olympics.
With Germany, Brazil, Poland, Canada, USA, and Japan having already joined host France, and Egypt set to take the African slot, only four Olympic quotas remain up for grabs, which will be decided through the FIVB Men’s Ranking by the end of the VNL preliminary round on June 23.
As it stands, Italy and Slovenia – the top two in the preliminary round with a clean sweep of victories – are the favorites to punch their Paris tickets after standing second and fifth respectively in the latest ranking on Monday.
Argentina (eighth) and Cuba (ninth) will also fancy their chances to qualify with Iran lagging behind in the 16th place of the ranking.
Iran will head to Fukuoka, Japan, for Week 2 – starting with an all-Asian encounter against the host on June 4.
Brazil, Bulgaria, and VNL debutant Turkey will also come Iran’s way in Fukuoka, before the final week of action in the preliminary round sees Paes’s side take on USA, the Netherlands, France, and Germany in Manila, Philippines.
The top eight of the table will progress to the VNL Finals in Lodz, Poland.