The Iranian men’s national junior volleyball team has breezed past Sri Lanka at the quarterfinal round of the 18th edition of the Asian Men's U20 Volleyball Championship in Chinese Taipei.

The Iranian outfit, consisting of captain Rasoul Aghcheli, Javad Karimi, Esmaeil Talebi, Amir Hossein Esfandiyar, Esmaeil Mosafer, Tayyeb Eini and Ali Asghar Mojarrad in its starting lineup, managed to triumph over the Sri Lankan squad 3-0, with the set scores of 25-18, 25-14 and 25-14, in a fixture staged at the indoor Kaohsiung Arena in the city of Kaohsiung, southwestern Taiwan.

Sri Lankans got off to a decent start and trailed the Persians point by point, until the Iranian sportsmen surged ahead and established an 8-7 lead at the first technical time-out.

Sri Lankan volleyball players then took advantage of the individual mistakes made by the Iranians to score, and entered the second time-out 16-15.

The Iranian side did not give up after the breather, and could eventually claim the first set by 25 points to 18.

The Iranians dug and spiked effectively as the match extended into the second set, and bolted to a 8-4 lead at the first technical time-out.



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"] The photo shows a view of the quarterfinal round match between Iran (players in red) and Sri Lanka at the 18th edition of the Asian Men's U20 Volleyball Championship in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei, July 13, 2016.[/caption]

After the break, the defending champions were better in service, reception and attacks, and recorded a 16-10 lead at the second technical time-out. They closed the set at 25-14.

The Iranian players held their composure in the third set, and finally chalked up a 25-14 win.

“Our technical team’s plans hit the snag in the first set due to the numerous errors and individual mistakes that our players made. The players could, however, correct their mistakes afterwards and asserted the lead in the second and third sets, and mounted offensives to seal the victory,” Iran’s head coach Behrouz Ataei said after the match.

The 18th edition of the Asian Men's U20 Volleyball Championship kicked off in Kaohsiung on July 9 and will wrap up on July 17.

By Press TV