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Iran were crowned champions of the 2017 FIVB Boys U19 Word Championship staged in Bahrain. The victors secured the tournament’s coveted gold medals after a well-deserved 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 25-20) triumph over European giants Russia.
Japan clinched the bronze medals after a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-18) win over Korea.
Bahrain’s dream campaign came to an abrupt end as the quarter-finalists were made known in the 2017 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship. Bahrain bowed to South American giants Brazil in straight sets (14-25, 15-25, 18-25) in their Round of 16 clash played in front of a packed home crowd.
Iran’s victory earned their under-19 national team their second title at this age-level. They first won 10 years ago in Mexico where they beat China in the final. The Iranians also improved on the bronze medal they won in the competition’s previous edition in 2015.
Iran’s Porya Yali led all scorers with 29 points. He also had two blocks. Morteza Sharifi chipped in with 19 points including two aces and one block, while team captain Amirhossein Esfandiar added 14 points including two aces and one block.
Iran head coach Reza Farjad said: “Ten years ago we were champions but we then had three losses. They were very hard days but we came through. We prepared 11 months to be in this championship.”
Bahrain Olympic Committee secretary general Abdulrahman Askar was on hand to present the teams with their medals. Bahrain Volleyball Association vice-president Jehad Khalfan was also present, along with the championship’s control committee president Ramon Suzara.
FINAL RANKINGS:
1 Iran, 2 Russia, 3 Japan, 4 Korea, 5 France, 6 Egypt, 7 Czech Republic, 8 Brazil, 9 Italy, 10 China, 11 Turkey, 12 Argentina, 13 Bahrain, 14 Puerto Rico, 15 USA, 16 Cuba, 17 Poland, 18 Mexico, 19 Chile, 20 Tunisia.
