Juan Cichello: We Think about Asian U-23 Volleyball Championship Semis
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran coach Juan Cichello says that they think about booking a place at the 2nd Asian Men’s U-23 Volleyball Championship semi-final.
Iran defeated China in straight sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-18) at the 6,000-seater Rezazadeh Indoor Stadium in Ardabil on Friday and will play Kazakhstan on Sunday in the competition’s quarter-final.
Iran opened the competition with a 3-0 victory over Pakistan and then defeated Malaysia 3-1.
“China had 50 kill blocks in their last three matches but in this match against Iran, they performed only two kill blocks against us. This is why we won this match,” Cichello said in the post-match news conference.
“We continue to learn in every match we are playing because our goal is to prepare these young players for the senior level competitions in the future,” the Argentine added.
“Now, we just think about a match against Kazakhstan. As I’ve already said, Iran is going to qualify for the final match and win the title,” Cichello concluded.
Only top two teams from this top-flight tournament will join host Egypt, South American champion Brazil, European winner and runner-up Poland and Turkey, Argentina, Cuba and Mexico, African winner Algeria, Italy and Russia in the 12-team World Championship in Cairo, Egypt.
The competition has kicked off on May 1 in Ardabil, Iran and will run until May 9.
