Mir Saeid Marouflakrani was pleased with Iran's great start in the tournament
Tokyo, Japan, May 28, 2016 – Iran captain Mir Saeid Marouflakrani was pleased that his side won over their continental counterparts Australia, while Australia captain Thomas Edgar was disappointed that the match did not go their way after a good preparation for the Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament.
Iran coach Raul Lozano: “I am happy for this result. We did a good job in attack and of controlling our errors. It's good to win the first match. This was a special match because we know each other well. We lost to them last year. Since I took over in April I have been working with the team on improving efficiency and reducing errors. I have analysed the team carefully.”
Iran captain Mir Saeid Marouflakrani: “It was a great victory for the first day. In the past we have played badly in the opening match. We had a good side-out and beat a great team today. The biggest change with Coach Lozano has been in our mentality and our training schedule. His experience in three Olympic Games will help us in this tournament.”
Australia coach Roberto Santilli: “We could not have expected to start worse. We had a problem with our rhythm. We are lucky there are six games left. We will try to reset with a different attitude and overcome this.
Australia captain Thomas Edgar: “We are very disappointed with the start. We had good preparation for this match and expected a lot. We did not have good rhythm immediately. They had a good serve and attack and that made it difficult for us. We will learn what we can from this match and move on.”