Iran Victorious over Chinese Taipei at 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women

Hitter Aytak Salamat captained the Iran side, leading with 23 points. Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Fang-Min scored 21 points in the defeat.

Coach Padideh Boloorizadeh expressed how pleased she was with Iran’s victory against a tough opponent.

“In the first set, we had an opportunity to play a different line-up which was part of the plan. The team executed exactly what we asked them to do. Even with a young team (averaging 20 years old), we are preparing them to be as equipped and at pace with how the rest of Asia are playing,” she said.

Both teams are set to face the host team in their next matches: Iran versus Philippines, set on Saturday at 19:00 Manila time; Chinese Taipei versus Philippines on Sunday at 19:00 local.

The third edition of the competition is being held in Manila’s historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum on May 22-29.

The Preliminary Round began on Wednesday with Pool A (the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, India, Iran, Australia) and Pool B (Vietnam, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Hong Kong) competing in respective groups, before heading into a rest and recovery day on Monday, May 27.

The two top teams of each pool will make up the Final Four in the semi-finals on May 28, while the remaining teams will look for their best possible finish with the 5th-8th semi-finals. The least-ranked teams of each pool will face off in the classification match for the 9th-10th places.

The finals are slated for May 29, when the eventual champion earns the right to return to Manila, as it confirms its slot for the Volleyball World Challenger Cup, scheduled for July 4-7, 2024.