In a final match held on Saturday in Manama, Bahrain, the Iranian team beat Italy 3-2 to conclude the 20th edition of the FIVB U21 World Championship. Iran had made it to the final four of the world championship in 2007 when it finished third.
The Iranians beat Brazil in three straight sets in the semi-finals of the current tournament on Friday.
“This medal means all our hard work during training; all our blood, sweat, and tears; all our hardships and pain. We have had extremely difficult preparation to win this championship,” said Iran’s captain Amirhossein Esfandiar after the final match.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the young sportsmen on their success.
قهرمانی مقتدرانه #جوانان ایران در مسابقات جهانی والیبال، نویدبخش آیندهای درخشان برای #والیبال ایران عزیز ماست.
این موفقیت غرورآفرین بر ملت ایران، بلندقامتان پرتلاش تیم ملی و مدیران و مربیان تیم مبارک باد. pic.twitter.com/TxaX9q5YB3— حسن روحانی (@Rouhani_ir) July 27, 2019
“The decisive victory of the Iranian youths in the world volleyball tournament heralds a bright future for our beloved Iran’s volleyball,” said Rouhani in a tweet he posted after the final match.
Iran has taken a huge leap in the world’s volleyball ranking over the past years. The country was among the six represented in a final round of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Nations League in Chicago, United States, earlier this month.
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Amazing!
Just amazing the achievement by the Iran’s Under-21 National Volleyball Team.
After a revolution,
after an 8 year long war imposed and financially supported by the Arab tribes and Western powers’ military support,
after crippling sanctions, etc, etc.
Iranians still shine inside and outside of the country, thank you.