TIANJIN, China (Dispatches) — Iran’s women’s volleyball team defeated Australia in four straight sets on Wednesday in a friendly match ahead of the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship in China.
Iran won 25-21, 25-18, 26-24 and 25-18 in the preparatory match, which was arranged following consultations between Iran technical director Alireza Tolou Kian and Australia’s coaching staff.
Shabnam Alikhani, Soudabeh Bagherpour, Mahsa Kadkhoda, Elaheh Poursaleh, Fatemeh Khalili, Reyhaneh Karimi and Negar Hashemi started for Iran.
The Asian championship begins on Friday in China, with 12 teams divided into three preliminary groups. Iran is in Group A with hosts China, Chinese Taipei and Iraq.
Iran will open its campaign against Chinese Taipei on Friday, before facing China on Monday and Iraq on Tuesday.
The format of the competition gives Iran a realistic opportunity to reach the quarterfinals. The top two teams from each group will advance, along with the two best third-place teams.
That makes Iran’s opening match against Chinese Taipei particularly important, with the two teams considered to be relatively close in strength. Chinese Taipei has generally finished one place ahead of Iran in recent editions of the Asian championship.
Iran could potentially advance with a victory over Iraq and a competitive performance against Chinese Taipei, depending on results elsewhere in the group and the standings among the third-place teams.
A quarterfinal appearance would also give Iran an opportunity to achieve its best finish in the history of the competition. Iran has participated in the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship since 2007 but has never finished higher than seventh.
A place among the top six would therefore mark a historic result for the Iranian team.
Thailand, the defending champion, is in Group B with Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Australia, while Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Hong Kong make up Group C.
Eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals, scheduled for Sept. 5 and 6. The semifinals will be played on Sept. 7, with the third-place match and final scheduled for Sept. 8.