Invincible Korea beat India in pulsating three sets to lift maiden AVC Cup title Almaty, Kazakhstan, August 24, 2014 – Korea underlined their supremacy over the 4th AVC Cup for Men after putting it past fighting India in hard-fought three-set thriller 25-23 25-21 27-25 in the final showdown at the B.Sholak Sport and Culture Palace on Sunday. The Korea’s maiden title came in their second final in the biennial top-flight competition. The world No.19 made their debut effort in the inaugural AVC Cup hosted by Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand in 2008. There, the Koreans advanced to the final clash for the first time, only to go down in grueling five sets to the eventual winners Iran. Korea also contested the 2010 and 2012 editions in Urmia, Iran and Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, but had to leave the venue disappointed after finishing sixth and fifth places respectively. En route to their Sunday showdown, Korea became the only team not to lose a match to their respective rivals. Their invincibility also included a repeated victory over Kazakhstan and a convincing straight-set win over India in the group round-robin preliminaries. However, India had turned a tough nut to crack this time as they stunned Iran, the Asia’s No.1 team and the consecutive two-time Asian champions, in the semi-finals on Saturday. Korea also had all the elements to win their first AVC Cup here as they stunned hosts Kazakhstan and their cheering home crowds in the other semi-final clash to book a final berth for the second time. Against the formidable Indians, powered by Gurinder Singh, who took the Best Scorer award in the previous episode in Vietnam two years ago, Korea mixed the exceptional attacks from left-hander Seo Jaeduck and Jeon Kwangin with solid blockings by Park Sangha and Shin Yungsuk to take an early 13-10 lead in the opening set. India mounted their defence, with Gurinder Singh carrying some big shots to help the team close the margin 23-23. However, Korea still had enough in their tank. A powerful mid-court attack from Seo Jaeduck moved Korea ahead 24-23 before an India’s unforced receiving mistake gave the tough rivals the close first-set win 25-23. Korea went on their relentless aggression in the second set and the Indians counter-attacked magnificently. Prabagaran joined the India’s scoring spree with his fierce attacks, resulting in a see-saw battle from the beginning. At 9-9, Korea started to produce the goods when India became more prone with unforced receiving mistakes. Park Sangha’s fast spikes and Seo Jaeduck’s explosive attacks gave Korea a four-point lead at 24-21 before Jeon Kwangin delivered a sharp blow down the middle to end the India’s challenge. Korea took the second set 25-21 and a confident 2-0 lead. India improved on their blockings and Korea continued their great form, allowing the battle to start off evenly in the third set. The score was tied at 15-15 and again 19-19. As India held their nerves and played more carefully, hoping for the set win and survival for the next set, Korea tightened their defence to maintain a good run. As Korea advanced to 24-23 and needed only one more point to win the set and the championship, India hit back bravely, with Prabagaran smashing a devastating spike for a 24-24 tie. Kwak Seungsuk overpowered the Indian blocking with his big hit to put Korea in front again 25-24, but India were just never-say-side. Prabagaran tore the Korean defence apart with his spectacular spike for another tie 25-25. To make short work of India, Seo Jaeduck attacked devastatingly to give Korea another one-point lead before a wide shot by Naveen Raja Jacob completely ended the India’s challenge. Korea captured the hard-fought set 27-25, the match and their maiden victory in the 4th AVC Cup. Seo Jaeduck scored a match-high 16 points including 14 deadly attack hits for Korea, while Naveen Raja Jacob led India with 15 points, all of which from devastating spikes from 25 attempts. “I’m very happy for the win. India played their best and we did the same. It’s really great for us to win the AVC Cup for the first time,” said Korea’s head coach Park Kiwon. Host Kazakhstan record historic win over Asia’s powerhouses Iran to finish incredible third After suffering a shock defeat at the hands of India in the do-or-die semi-final clash the previous day, world No.11 Iran, the defending and successive two-time Asian winners and the AVC champions in 2008 and 2010, faced another nightmare on Sunday when they went down to Kazakhstan in dramatic four sets and dropped from the top-three podium for the first time in the AVC Cup history. In this crucial match against hosts Kazakhstan, a fired-up Iran remained in their formidable line-up including Alireza Jadidi and Mohammad Taher Vadi, who respectively won the Best Blocker and the Best Server awards at the previous edition in Vietnam two years ago. The visitors were also strengthened by hard-attackers Shirood Ghorbani Saeid and strongly-built Rahman Davoodi. Kazakhstan, which fielded all substitutions in their semi-final encounter against Korea, had a much stronger roster this time which included Maxim Mamedov and Marat Imangaliyev, whose team stunned title-holders China in five sets in the knockout quarter-finals on Friday. Boosted by cheering home crowds at the venue, Kazakhstan seriously challenged the indomitable giants Iran, which clinched an impressive fourth place at this year’s World League, from the very beginning of the first set. After catching up with Iran at 16-16, thanks largely to Nodirkhan Kadirkhanov’s fine blocking, the host side continued their superb form to fight the strong visitors for some more points. In-from Kazakhstan successfully took the closely-contested first set 25-23. Iran, which finished second to China in the previous edition in Vietnam, came back much stronger in the second set, with Rahman Davoodi and Alireza Jadidi producing scintillating blockings and Shirood Ghorbani Saeid hitting powerful mid-court spikes. Iran comfortably clinched the set 25-17. Kazakhstan’s blocks and huge attacks worked out pretty well in the third set which ended 25-19 in favour of the host team. Iran tried to regain their form in the fourth set, but failed to make their mark. Kazakhstan claimed the set win 25-16, the match and a historic third place at the Asia’s top-notch competition. Vitaliy Vorivodin emerged as the top scorer of Kazakhstan with 20 points including 15 kills from 32 attempts. Shirood Ghorbani Saeid led Iran with 15 points. “I’m very satisfied with the win and the third-place finish at home this time. I think Iran played a tough match against India in the previous match and they could not play their best against us. We are also fortunate to rest our best players in the semi-final clash against Korea and came full-strength this time. We next prepare for the next month’s Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea and I hope we will be successful as we did in the AVC Cup at home,” Kazakhstan’s head coach Andrey Patrakov commented through an English translator in a press conference after the match. China power past Japan and Australia avenge the loss to Thailand to win their respective playoffs Defending AVC Cup champions China, which fielded their national junior team in this tournament, are strong with the likes of Zhu Zhiyuan and Yu Guanghui in their 5th-6th playoff against the Guangzhou Asian Games winners Japan, also fielding a young squad preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games. China clinched the first set 25-20 before Japan stormed back to win the second 25-21 for a 1-1 tie. China went on their aggressive streak to take the totally lop-sided third set 25-12 and never let the rivals any comeback. China captured the close fourth set 25-23, the match and the fifth place. Japan took the sixth position. Zhang Zhejia tallied 17 points for China in this encounter, while Issei Otake led Japan with 11 points. The 7th-8th playoff earlier saw Australia, who went down in straight sets to Thailand in their group round-robin preliminaries, perform well in their second clash against the old foes. The fast-improving Aussies pulled off an exceptional straight-set 25-22 25-23 25-13 win over Thailand. Lincoln Williams led Australia with 18 points, while Jirayu Raksakaew topscored with 15 points for Thailand. Australia took the seventh place, leaving Thailand to leave the venue with their heads low in disappointment and a bottom eighth position, the similar result they had achieved at their debut effort on home soil in 2008. In the awarding presentation, Korea captured the prestigious AVC Cup plus US$25,000 cash, while second- and third-placed finishers India and Kazakhstan also received trophies plus US$20,000 and US$15,000 respectively. The prize money also went to the other five teams participating in the 2014 AVC Cup. Sunday’s final results 7th-8th playoff: Australia b Thailand 3-0 (25-22 25-23 25-13) 5th-6th playoff: China b Japan 3-1 (25-20 21-25 25-12 25-23) Bronze-medal match: Kazakhstan b Iran 3-1 (25-23 17-25 25-19 25-16) Gold-medal match: Korea b India 3-0 (25-23 25-21 27-25) Team Ranking 1. Korea 2. India 3. Kazakhstan 4. Iran 5. China 6. Japan 7. Australia 8. Thailand Individual Awards First Best Outside Spiker: Prabagaran (India) Second Best Outside Spiker: Shirood Ghorbani Saeid (Iran) First Best Middle Blocker: Vaishnav (India) Second Best Middle Blocker: Sharifat Mostafa (Iran) Best Opposite Spiker: Seo Jaeduck (Korea) Best Setter: Han Sunsoo (Korea) Best Libero: Kairat Baibekov (Kazakhstan) Most Valuable Player: Seo Jaeduck (Korea)
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:29:39 +0000
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