Iran to Face Japan at 2023 Asian Women’s Volleyball C’ship Opener
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – As the curtain came down on the 22nd Asian Senior Men’s Championship in Orumiyeh, Iran on August 26, focus now switches to Thailand in the 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship.
A total of 14 teams across the continent will vie for top honor and accumulated points for FIVB World Ranking.
The 22nd edition of the continent’s biggest women’s volleyball tournament will be held between August 30 and September 6 at 5,000-seater Chartchai Hall and The Mall Korat’s MCC Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Participating teams have been divided into four pools, with Pool A consisting of host and current world No.16 Thailand, which captured the Asian title twice in 2009 and 2013 and is seeking its third crown on home soil, Mongolia, which finished 11th in its last appearance at the 2015 edition in China, and world No.53 Australia, while Pool B consists of world No.8 Japan and defending and consecutive two-time Asian champion, world No.68 India and Iran, current world No.65.
World No.35 Korea, which has yet won the Asian title to secure second spot for seven times in this championship, is chasing its ultimate dreams of winning its unprecedented title in Nakhon Ratchasima. It will contest Pool C together with world No.51 Chinese Taipei, world No.69 Uzbekistan and AVC Challenge Cup champion Vietnam, current world No.48.
Formidable China, world No.6, former 13-time Asian champion and historic silver medalist at the recent 2023 VNL, is in Pool D, with world No. 66 Hong Kong China, world No. 44 Kazakhstan and world No.60 Philippines joining the fray.
Teams will be pitted against one another in the pool round-robin preliminaries, with only top two teams from each pool advancing to the Top 8, split into Pool E (A1, A2, C1, C2) and Pool F (B1, B2, D1, D2). Lower-ranked sides will be relegated to Classification Round for 9th-14th places, with teams finishing 3rd in Pool A and 3rd, 4th places in Pool C contesting Pool G and those finishing 3rd in Pool B and 3rd, 4th places in Pool D competing in Pool H.
In Round of Top 8, the well-qualified teams will contest the pool round-robin competition once again, with top two teams from Pool E and Pool F contesting the cross semifinals. The two winning teams will next face off in the final showdown on September 6, while the losers will fight it out in the third-place playoff clash for bronze medal on the same day.
Iran and Japan set up an opening clash at Chartchai Hall on August 30, followed by the other two matches, Korea against Vietnam and Australia against host Thailand, asianvolleyball.org reported.
