Italy, Iran to battle for world title
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Defending champions Italy and 2019 titlists Iran set up last night a mouth-watering clash for the gold medals in the 2023 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship, currently being hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Italians barged into the final with a resounding come-from-behind victory in four sets against fellow European giants Bulgaria, while the Iranians overcame battling South Americans Argentina, also in four sets.
The title-deciding contest is a rematch of the final in the 2019 edition of the tournament, which was also held in Bahrain and won by the Iranians in a five-set thriller.
Today will mark the third straight gold medal game for Italy in the junior worlds. They claimed the champions’ trophy in the 2021 edition against Russia. The final is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start as the culmination of over a week’s action of top-class volleyball featuring the sport’s future stars.
Prior to the gold medal contest, Bulgaria and Argentina will battle for the bronze medals at 5 p.m. The concluding classification games will also be held today from 10 a.m. onward. All matches are taking place between two arenas at Isa Sports City in Riffa. Entrance is free, and all are invited to attend.
The 16-nation Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) competition is being held under the patronage of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy president, General Sports Authority (GSA) chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) chief, His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
BOC vice president His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa attended yesterday’s semi-finals along with GSA CEO Dr. Abdulrahman Askar and Bahrain Volleyball Association president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.
In Italy’s victory, the holders made up for an opening-set setback and stormed to the big 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18) result. The game was a battle between two of the tournament’s superstar players: Italy’s Alessandro Alberto Bovolenta and Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Nikolov. Bovolenta had a fine performance with 28 points, while outside hitter Mattia Orioli added 14, including three service rebounds.
Nikolov put in a 23-point effort in defeat, while opposite Venislav Antov chipped in with 16 markers. "It was such a tough match; we knew it would be," said Bovolenta. "We are very happy with the win. It was a very emotional game for us, knowing Italy won two years ago.
I am so proud of my teammates and our staff for believing in us." We are now focused on tomorrow. We will fight like we did today." Italy will be gunning for their second title in the history of the competition, adding to their gold medals in the last edition in 2021. They have also won silver four times in the past and bronze twice.
Meanwhile, Iran shrugged off a sub-par start to roar back and defeat Argentina 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-20). Outside hitters Khanzadeh Firouzjah Poriya Hossein and Mastanabad Mobin Nasri scored 25 and 19 points, respectively, while Amir Mohammad Golzadeh finished with 15. Lucas Conde was the top scorer for the Argentinians, with Nahuel Garcia adding 12.
"We had a tough match tonight, but we won it, and we hope we can be just as successful in tomorrow’s final," said Golzadeh. "We are so tired, but we will rest for tonight and prepare our best.
Iran's title in 2019 was their only gold medal of the junior worlds so far, and they will be hoping to have a repeat of that success.
In fifth- to eighth-ranking matches yesterday, Poland outclassed Belgium 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 27-25). Opposite Aliaksei Nasevich had 14 points, while outside hitter Piotr Sliwka scored 11. For the Belgians, Basil Dermaux scored 16.
Poland will take on Brazil for fifth, while Belgium will face Thailand for seventh overall.
The Brazilians ousted the Thais 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-15) in their head-to-head yesterday, led by the 14 points of middle blocker Thiery Fellipe Oliveira and the 12 of outside hitter Lima Joao Vitor dos Santos. Jakkrit Thanomnoi scored 11 for The Thais.
For the ninth to 12th ranking, the Czech Republic defeated India, while Canada beat Egypt.
The Czechs took a 3-1 (27-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17) decision against their Indian rivals, with opposite David Kollator scoring 24 points, including four service winners. Middle blocker Tomas Bukacek added 18 in the win, while India’s outside hitter Aman Kumar had 18 to lead his team.
In Egypt’s win, they fought back after losing the first set to win 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-23, 25-15). Skipper Zyad Mohamed had 21 points, five on blocks, and outside hitter Hamza Awad scored 19. Brendan Mills scored 19 to pace the Canadians in defeat.
The Czech Republic and Egypt will face off for ninth place today, while India and Canada play for 11th.
In the 13th-to-16th consolation games yesterday, the USA got their first win of the competition after defeating hosts Bahrain 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21). Outside hitters Dillon Klein and Zachary Rama had 18 and 16 points, respectively, for the Americans, while their Bahraini counterparts Sayed Hashim and Husain Ehsan had 14 and 13.
The USA will now play for 13th overall against Mexico, who beat Tunisia 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22). Angel Ivan Dominguez Carrillo had a team-high 20 for the Mexicans, while Jorge Ariel Hernandez Cabrera scored 17, and Tunisia’s Khaled Bouallegue had 22. Bahrain and Tunisia face off on the 15th.
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