Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the Asian Games men’s volleyball final ended after they suffered a straight-sets defeat against Iran in the semi-finals in Okazaki, Japan, on Friday.
Iran proved too strong for the Green-shirts, completing a commanding 3-0 victory with scores of 25-13, 25-15 and 25-11 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium.
Pakistan struggled to find their rhythm from the outset as Iran dominated the opening set 25-13 before maintaining their grip on the contest with a 25-15 win in the second.
There was no turnaround for Pakistan in the third set as well, with Iran racing away to a 25-11 victory to wrap up the match in exactly one hour and seal their place in the final.
Iran enjoyed a clear advantage in attack, recording a 64 per cent success rate on spikes compared with Pakistan’s 34 per cent. The Iranians also dominated at the net, registering a 32 per cent success rate in blocks against Pakistan’s four per cent.
Iran finished with 75 total points, while Pakistan managed 39.
Usman Faryad Ali was Pakistan’s leading scorer with 11 points, all of them coming from spikes. Murad Khan followed with nine points, including eight from spikes and one block.
Afaq Khan contributed three points, while Jabran and Musawer Khan scored two apiece. Hamid Yazman and Murad Jehan added one point each.
Iran also held the edge from the service line, recording four service points compared with Pakistan’s two.
Pakistan the other day floored India 3-0 to reach the semi-finals.
Pakistan will now meet in the bronze medal match on Saturday with the winners of the second semi-final between Japan and China which is scheduled on Friday.