Iran and Poland are the only unbeaten teams at the Men's World Olympic Qualification Tournament
Tokyo, Japan, May 29, 2016 – Iran and Poland’s brilliant five-set comebacks brought them first and second at the ranking table, while Australia and China broke into the win-column on the second day of the Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Sunday.
Quick links
Iran bt Canada 3-2 (27-29, 19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 16-14)
Australia bt Venezuela 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-10, 25-19)Poland bt France 3-2 (22-25, 13-25, 31-29, 25-17, 15-12)China bt Japan 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-23)
Iran made an incredible comeback in the match as they overcame their losses in the first two sets. Iran defeated Canada 3-2 (27-29, 19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 16-14) to maintain a 2-0 win-record in the tournament. Canada are still seeking for a victory, but they have earned two points from playing two tough five-setters. Iran edged Canada in attacks 70-66, but their rivals edged them in blocks 11-9. However, Iran benefitted from two straight blocks to complete their comeback in the final set. Milad Ebadipour top scored for Iran with 26 points, while Gavin Schmitt led the Canadian offensive with 27 markers.
Australia defeated Venezuela 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-10, 25-19) to offset their loss on the first day. Venezuela started strong but fell apart in the succeeding sets as the Australians enhanced their defence on Venezuelan top scorer Kevin Martin Pinerua. Pinerua scored well in the first set but Australia were able to neutralised his offence in the succeeding sets. Australia, on the other hand, regained their focus and executed their plays well. After not getting much playing time in the first match, Thomas Edgar started and delivered 22 points to lead the Australian offence. Pinerua scored 19 points for the losing side.
Dawid Konarski’s entry as a starter in the third set brought wonders to the Polish offence as he scored crucial points in their thrilling 31-29 set victory. France controlled the tempo in the first two sets and could have easily closed the match in the third set as they held a big lead. However, Poland’s inspiring run in the third set opened a gate of opportunity to redeem their poor performance earlier in the match. The Polish side succeeded as the French completely lost their concentration in the match. Konarski top scored for Poland with 19 points, while Earvin Ngapeth led France with 22 markers.
Meanwhile, China got their first win at the expense of hosts Japan 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-23). China, which came from a 3-1 loss to France, relentlessly patrolled the net as they mounted 14 blocks on the Japanese attackers. China kept their offensive pace and managed any upsurge from their Asian rivals to take the first two sets. Japan gave them a better challenge in the third set with an exchange of powerful spikes between Kunihiro Shimizu and Dai Qingyao. Japan managed to snatch the lead but China still got the free pass to win at the final stretch as Shimizu’s serve went long that tied the game at 23-all, then their rivals scored on two consecutive blocks that sealed the set and match victory for China.
The action at the men’s Olympic qualifiers’ will resume on Tuesday, with the first two match-ups featuring Australia and Canada at 1:10 GMT, and China and Venezuela at 3:55 GMT. The next two match-ups will feature the undefeated teams Iran and Poland. Iran will play France at 6:40 GMT, while Poland will meet with hosts Japan at 10:20 GMT.
Top Scorer by Day
27 – Gavin Schmitt of Canada v Iran on May 29
22 - Antonin Rouzier of France v China on May 28
Top Scoring Performances
27 – Gavin Schmitt of Canada v Iran on May 29
26 – Milad Ebadipour of Iran v Canada on May 29
22 – Earvin Ngapeth of France v Poland on May 29
22 – Thomas Edgar of Australia v Venezuela on May 29
22 - Antonin Rouzier of France v China on May 28
21 - Kunihiro Shimizu of Japan v Venezuela on May 28
21 - Bartosz Kurek of Poland v Canada on May 28
Top Individual Serving Performances
4 – Seyed Mohammed Mousavi of Iran v Canada on May 29
4 - Kunihiro Shimizu of Japan v Venezuela on May 28
Top Team Serving Performances
9 – Poland v Canada on May 28
Top Individual Blocking Performances
6 – Nicolas Le Goff of France v Poland on May 29
5 – Aidan Zingel of Australia v Venezuela on May 29
4 – Zhang Chen of China v Japan on May 29
4 – Chen Longhai of China v Japan on May 29
4 – Rafal Buszek of Poland v France on May 29
4 – Seyed Mohammad Mousavi of Iran v Canada on May 29
4 – Daniel Jansen Vandoorn of Canada v Iran on May 29
4 – Amir Ghafour of Iran v Australia on May 28
Top Team Blocking Performances
14 – China v Japan on May 29
14 – China v France on May 28
Highest Scoring Sets
29-31 – France v Poland (3rd set) on May 29
26-28 – Japan v Venezuela (1st set) on May 28
Highest Scoring Matches
221 – Canada v Iran 2-3 (29-27, 25-19, 25-20, 25-21, 16-14) on May 29
198 – Poland v China 3-2 (25-18, 17-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-9) on May 28