Iran Defeat Pakistan 3-0 in Asian Games Volleyball Semi-Final
Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail
Pakistan to Play for Bronze Medal After Straight-Sets Loss
Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the men’s volleyball final at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games ended on Friday after Iran secured a convincing 3-0 victory in the semi-final at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium in Japan.
Iran controlled the match from the beginning and won all three sets 25-13, 25-15 and 25-11, completing the victory in exactly one hour.
Iran Dominate From the Start
Pakistan struggled to match Iran’s attacking intensity in the opening set. Iran quickly established control and finished the first set 25-13.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Iran maintaining pressure at the net and extending their advantage with a 25-15 win.
Pakistan attempted to find a way back into the contest in the third set, but Iran continued to dominate. The Iranian side closed out the final set 25-11 to complete a straight-sets victory.
Iran Hold Clear Statistical Advantage
Iran’s superiority was also reflected in the match statistics.
The winners recorded a 64 percent success rate on spikes, compared with Pakistan’s 34 percent.
Iran also had a significant advantage in blocking, achieving a 32 percent success rate compared with just four percent for Pakistan.
Overall, Iran collected 75 points, while Pakistan finished with 39.
Iran also earned four points from serves, compared with two service points for Pakistan.
Usman Faryad Ali Leads Pakistan Scoring
Usman Faryad Ali was Pakistan’s top scorer with 11 points, all coming through successful spikes.
Murad Khan contributed nine points, including eight spikes and one block.
Afaq Khan added three points, while Jabran and Musawer Khan scored two points each.
Hamid Yazman and Murad Jehan contributed one point apiece.
Pakistan Had Earlier Defeated India
Pakistan entered the semi-final after an impressive quarter-final performance against India.
The Green-shirts defeated India 3-0 to book their place in the last four and keep their hopes of winning the Asian Games title alive.
However, Iran’s strong performance ended Pakistan’s run toward the gold medal.
Pakistan Set Sights on Bronze
Pakistan will now compete in the bronze-medal match on Saturday.
Their opponent will be determined by the result of the second semi-final between Japan and China.
The Green-shirts will look to finish their Asian Games campaign with a podium position after missing out on a place in the final.
