Perfect start for Iran, Korea and Japan at 2026 AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship

If you wish to publish an Italian translation of this article, any of our other articles, or ANY PART OF THEM, please cite the original source. PLAGIARISM IS ILLEGAL!

Iran, Korea and Japan scored the first wins at the AVC Men’s Volleyball Asian Championship, which also serves as a qualification tournament for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games men’s volleyball event and for the 2027 FIVB Volleyball World Cup.

On Friday’s openers in Fukuoka, Japan, they beat New Zealand, Chinese Taipei and Oman.

The biggest surprise of the day came from the evening match in Pool A, in which Oman managed to take a set away from hosts, defending champions and heavy favorites Japan. However, the home team collected all the three points with a 3-1 (25:18, 25:13, 20:25, 25:9) victory in front of six and a half thousand fans at the Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium. The home team outperformed their rivals on all scoring counts, most substantially in unforced errors by 15-28, and in serving aces by 11-1.
Outside hitters Ran Takahashi and captain Yuki Ishikawa shared the top scorer honors with five aces and 19 points each, while Opposite Yuji Nishida added another 14 points.
Oman’s middle blocker Osama Sulaiman Salmeen Al-Mamari and outside hitter Mahmood Khalifa Maayouf Al Saadi left the court with 13 points each. The other Omani outside – Fallah Saleem Al-Aabed Mubarak Al Jaradi – finished with 10 points, all in attack.

In the opening Pool B match on Friday, Iran allowed no surprises against New Zealand and hammered out an emphatic 3-0 (25:15, 25:12, 25:22) sweep. Iran’s opposite and captain Amin Esmaeilnezhad, who came in as a substitution during the second set, emerged as the team’s top scorer with 11 points through an impressive success rate of 77%.
In fact, as many as 33 of Iran’s 75 points came from New Zealand’s unforced errors, while the winners made only eight of those.

In Pool C, Korea managed a 3-1 (29:27, 19:25, 25:15, 25:15) win over Chinese Taipei. The winners were led by outside Subong Heo with a match-high 19 points, including one ace, one block and 74% in attack, while opposite Donghyeok Im put away three aces towards an 18-point total, and middle blocker Changseong Park who shined in net defense with five of the team’s 16 kill blocks in the match.

The Asian Championship continues on Saturday, September 5, with Australia against Bahrain in Pool A at 10:00 local time (01:00 UTC), China against India in Pool B at 13:30 (04:30), and Qatar against Thailand in Pool C at 17:00 (08:00).

__________________

🏐| Group stage schedule:

👉🏼Friday September 4, 2026
12.00 (Local Time) – Iran – New Zealand 3-0 (25:15, 25:12, 25:22)
16.00 (Local Time) – Republic of Korea – Chinese Taipei 3-1 (29:27, 19:25, 25:15, 25:15)
19.30 (Local Time) – Japan – Oman 3-1 (25:18, 25:13, 20:25, 25:9)

Saturday September 5, 2026
10.00 (Local Time) – Australia – Bahrain
13.30 (Local Time) – China – India
16.00 (Local Time) – Qatar – Thailand

Sunday September 6, 2026
10.00 (Local Time) – Iran – India
13.30 (Local Time) – Qatar – Chinese Taipei
19.30 (Local Time) – Japan – Bahrain

Monday September 7, 2026
10.00 (Local Time) – Oman – Australia
13.30 (Local Time) – New Zealand – China
17.00 (Local Time) – Thailand – Republic of Korea

Tuesday September 8, 2026
10.00 (Local Time) – India – New Zealand
13.30 (Local Time) – Qatar – Republic of Korea
19.30 (Local Time) – Japan – Australia

Wednesday September 9, 2026
10.00 (Local Time) – Bahrain – Oman
13.30 (Local Time) – Chinese Taipei – Thailand
17.00 (Local Time) – Iran – China

After the group stage, eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals, and on September 13, the Asian champion and the first men’s team to win an Olympic quota for Los Angeles 2028 through the qualification system will be determined.

__________________

👀|QUICK LINKS
• 2026 AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship
• All International news 🗞️
• Multimedia
• Facebook
• Instagram

__________________