Poland stay in lead with France close behind

Tokyo, Japan, June 1, 2016 – Poland stayed on course with a 4-0 win-loss card after another five-set win, while France closely trail them at second place with a 3-1 record; Canada have earned another victory, and Iran recovered from their previous loss to improve their records to 2-2 at the Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Poland maintained their 4-0 win-loss record as they withstood another five-set match, this time, against Asian side China 3-2 (26-28, 20-25, 25-16, 25-17, 15-10). Poland were down in the first two sets, but Bartosz Kurek guided his team-mates to post a comeback in the succeeding sets. China showed some powerful plays that stunned their European rivals in the first two frames but were not able to sustain their momentum as the Polish side escalated on their offence and defence. Kurek intensely put down his attacks that opened up the Chinese block. Kurek finished the match with 22 points, while his rival Zhang Chen of China charted 17 points.

France escaped the great Australian challenge in a four-set thriller 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 16-25, 44-42). After they took the first two sets, France lost its concentration in the third frame as Australian opposite Paul Carroll was scoring from every angle, which left the French defenders helpless. The action in the fourth set was the most captivating as France were profoundly tested by Australia. The fourth set had the most captivating moment of the match as the French had set point 24-23 but the Australians hounded them in each play and contained their main hitter Antonin Rouzier. Both squads raced until it reached the 42nd mark, then France were finally able to end set and match courtesy of Ngapeth and Le Roux. Carroll top scored with 34 points, while Antonin Rouzier delivered 23 markers.

Earlier, Canada came up with a straight-set (25-20, 25-20, 27-25) win over Venezuela to break their five-set pattern in the last three matches. Canada made back-to-back wins to improve their record to 2-2, while Venezuela are still bottom of the table with a 0-4 card. Canada and Venezuela matched-up well as both squads overruled to build significant leads the entire match. Canada had the better end game in the first two sets as their hitters John Gordon Perrin and Gavin Schmitt operated well on their attacks. In the third set, as Venezuela led, Canada managed to punch in crucial points to catch up with their rivals. Venezuela committed costly errors, while their rivals were tough on their net defence.

Meanwhile, Iran showed composure in their 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 27-25) win over hosts Japan. Iran’s blocking game worked well to provide them with victory in the first set, but Japan responded with a win in the second set, as Kunihiro Shimizu and Yuki Ishikawa teamed-up on offence. Iran just completely dominated the net in the next two frames to secure match victory. Iran’s Seyed Mohammed Mousavi had eight of their 16 total blocks in the match, then Shahram Mahmoudi fired 21 of his 22 points from the attack line. Shimizu had a match-high 23 points for Japan.

The Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament continues on Thursday with the matches of Canada and France at 1:10 GMT, and Iran and China at 3:55 GMT. The third match at 6:40 GMT will feature the first and and last placers - Poland and Venezuela, then at 10:15 GMT, another continental rivalry will transpire between Australia and hosts Japan.