Iran succeeded in their gold medal hunt as they defeated Russia 3-1, winning its second title in the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship. Japan defeated South Korea for the bronze medal. Amir Hossein Esfandiar from Iran was elected the MVP and Amir Hossein Toukhteh was selected in the tournament’s dream team.

Porya Yali, Morteza Sharifi and Amirhossein Esfandiar dominated in offence as they combined for 54 of Iran’s 59 attacks. Yali led Iran in scoring with 29 points, Sharifi charted 19 points and was Iran’s most efficient hitter, while Esfandiar played consistently across all skill sets. Maksim Sapozhkov, who came off the bench in the second set, top scored for Russia with 16 points.

RESULTS (Iran)

Iran 3 : 2 Italy (25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12) – Pool D

Iran 3 : 0 Mexico (25-19, 25-12, 25-18) – Pool D

Iran 3 : 0 China (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) – Pool D

Iran 3 : 0 Czech Republic (25-22, 25-12, 25-19) – Pool D

Iran 3 : 0 Turkey (25-18, 25-21, 25-13) – Round of 16

Iran 3 : 0 Brazil (25-21, 25-20, 25-15) – Quarterfinals

Iran 3 : 0 South Korea (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) – Semifinals

Russia 1 : 3 Iran (20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25) – Final

Iranian team posing with their medals. Photo source fivb.com Amir Hossein Toukhteh (best middle blocker, Iran), Pavel Tetyukhin (best outside spiker, Russia), Artem Melnikov (best middle blocker, Russia), Amirhosseini Esfandiar (MVP and best outside spiker, Iran), Shunsuke Nakamura (best setter, Japan), Im Donghyeok (best opposite spiker, Korea) and Kenta Ichikawa (best libero, Japan). Photo source fivb.com Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran) – Gold medal winner, MVP and best outside spiker. Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA Porya Yali’s 29 points helped Iran to take down European powerhouse Russia to win gold. Photo source facebook.com-FIVB.InternationalVolleyballFederation Individual honors: Best Outside Spikers – Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran). Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA Individual honors: Best Outside Spikers – Pavel Tetyukhin (Russia) and Amirhosseini Esfandiar (MVP, Iran). Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA Iranian team waiting for their gold medals. Photo source fivb.com Iranian team celebrating after defeating Russia in the final 3 to 1. Photo source Payam Sani, YJC Iranian team welcomed at the airport in Tehran. Photo credit BORNA

DREAM TEAM

Most Valuable Player: Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran)

Best Outside Spikers: Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran), Pavel Tetyukhin (Russia)

Best Middle Blockers: Artem Melnikov (Russia), Amir Hossein Toukhteh (Iran)

Best Setter: Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan)

Best Opposite Spiker: Im Donghyeok (South Korea)

Best Libero: Kenta Ichikawa (Japan)

The 2017 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship was the fifteenth edition of the world championship for men’s national teams under the age of 19. The tournament was hosted by Bahrain in Riffa from 18 to 27 August 2017. 20 teams from the 5 confederations competed in the tournament.

Sources: FIVB | U19 Boys 2017 (News), Wikipedia | 2017 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship, Young Journalists Club, Borna News, IRNA