Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship:
Iran coach Mo’menimoqaddam hails ‘commanding’ title run
Iran head coach Gholamreza Mo’menimoqaddam lavished praise on his team after retaining the crown at the Asian U20 Volleyball Championship in emphatic fashion.
Iran outclassed South Korea in straight sets (25-12, 25-18, 25-22) in Tuesday’s final showpiece in Surabaya, Indonesia, for a record-extending eighth trophy – third in succession – in the competition.
The game was a second meeting between the tournament’s two most-decorated sides after Iran had surrendered a two-set lead but still managed to come out on top in the decider to top Pool F.
“Congratulations to the Iranian people and volleyball family. My players produced a commanding performance in the final. I just have to thank my staff for all the hard work over the past three-and-a-half months. They, along with all coaches in the country, have done an excellent job to help this group of young talents flourish,” said Mo’menimoqaddam, who also hailed his players for “showing great determination throughout the event.”
Tuesday’s title was a third successive major trophy in as many years for Mo’menimoqaddam on Iran’s youth team bench, as he also steered the country to the world under-21 crown last year in Manama.
“Thank God we have won two Asian titles and a world crown, not losing a single match, during the three years that I’ve been in charge of the team. That’s only a testament to the potentials and prowess of Iranian volleyball. We have decent young players who could help the seniors team succeed in the world and Asian events again in the near future,” added the Iranian head coach, whose team made a clean sweep of seven victories – six in straight sets – en route to the title.
There were further glories for the Iranian team in the competition, as four of Mo’menimoqaddam’s boys walked away with the individual awards.
Pouya Aryakhah was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while Emran Kook-Jili grabbed the Best Setter award, with Taha Behboudnia and Armin Qelichniazi sharing the prize for Best Middle Blocker.
“I’m thrilled to be named the best setter, though the team title was much more valuable than the individual prize for me. I just hope my teammates and I could keep up the good work to find our ways into the seniors’ squad,” Iranian captain Kook-Jili said.
“South Korea is a decent side and has only been beaten by Iran over the past two years, which is why I they were a bit intimidated by us prior to the game. We had to dig deep for the victory against them in the group stage, but we played with much more hunger today. We began preparation for this event with a champion’s mindset since day one,” added the Iranian setter.
Behboudnia, meanwhile, was glad to his team “take lessons from the incidents of the previous game against the South Koreans” for the final.
“Their coach tried to drag us into mind games in that game and his behavior cost us in the third and fourth sets. The coaches told us to stay fully focused on our own performance today and that’s exactly what happened.”
Iranian left-handed outside hitter Aryakhah was full of gratitude for his teammates helping him pick up the MVP award, saying: “I wouldn’t have won this, had it not been for their contribution with the best receptions and passes throughout the tournament.”