NAGOYA, Japan – Pakistan put one over India, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18, and advanced to the semifinals of the men’s volleyball at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya.
Playing with fire in their eyes, Pakistan needed only one hour and 22 minutes to dispatch rival India and set up an exciting semifinal match against defending champion Iran at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium.
Opposite hitter Murad Khan stood tallest for Pakistan, making 18 of 33 tries to finish with 19 points apart from one ace. He was ably supported by Faryad Ali Usman, who scattered 13 points.
While it was a breeze for Pakistan, Iran poured everything it had to dodge an upset bullet, eking out a 25-23, 18-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10 over a stubborn South Korea side.
China likewise scored a three-set win over Thailand but not before warding off the spirited challenge of the latter for a 25-23, 25-23, 25-19 win, a feat that set them up a mouth-watering semis showdown with Japan.
It was also swift and easy for the host nation, as it fired from all cylinders on the way to a 25-14, 25-13, 25-12 win over a game but overmatched Qatar side in the last quarterfinal game for the day.
Outside hitter Kai Masato spearheaded Japan’s spread-out offense with 10 points, while four others scored seven points or more.
In a show of force, six players scored in double figures for Iran, with Ali Hajipor Moghaddam Farouj showing leading the way with 16 points on 15 spikes and a block.
Amin Esmaeilnezhad, as usual, provided the needed firepower with 12 points, while Morteza Sharifi, Poriya Hossein Khanzedeh, Ali Haghparast, and Seyed Eisa Naseri Chenari scoring 10 points each.
Shining brightly for China were outside hitter Wang Bin and opposite hitter Jiang Chuan, who logged 15 and 12 points, respectively.
In the classification round played at the Park Arena Komaki, Kazakhstan outlasted Hong Kong, 22-25, 24-26, 25-20, 26-24, 15-11, to enhance its chances of finishing as high as 9th place.
Klim Ryukhov starred for Kazakhstan by tallying 27 points highlighted by 25 spikes on top of one block and an ace.
Chinese-Taipei also moved into that direction with 25-18, 26-24, 25-21 win over Kyrgyzstan. Vietnam likewise prevailed over Uzbekistan, 25-22, 25-20, 25-15.
Meantime, the Philippines was relegated to the battle for 13th to 16th places after losing to Indonesia, 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 21-25, in the last game of the classification round.
But the Philippines, which used the young ones for most the time, was happy its showing, especially in the second set, which it won.
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