Asian Men's Volleyball Championship 2023 Classification: India defeat Iraq and finish on winning note

Winner of the match finishes the tournament on 11th spot

The Indian men’s Volleyball team is scheduled to take on Iraq in the (11th-12th) classification at Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship 2023 on Friday (Jul 25th). After losing the (7th-10th) classification match yesterday against Indonesia, India will play their final encounter of the tournament and will look to finish on a high.

After starting the tournament with a loss against Qatar, the Indian team bounced back to beat Afghanistan, ensuring qualification into the Round of 12. The encounter against China was one of the best in the tournament with the winner decider in the final set. China holding experience and exposure, leapfrogged India (3-2) to progress for the quarter-finals.

Watch India vs Iraq Match Highlights | Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship 2023

Meanwhile, India after getting knocked out of the competition had the chance to finish as high a seventh spot through the classification matches. However, Indonesia thrashed India (3-0) in the (7th-12th) classification match. After a brave fight against China, India started the classification on a bright note and like the pre-quarterfinals lost the opening set (29-31).

In both the previous matches, India has looked uncomfortable in finishing sets in their favour. This was also the case against Qatar as well in the opening match but as mentioned earlier, this is India’s first official international tournament for quite some time and are also playing their first competitive match post the completion of Prime Volleyball League season 2 held earlier in March.

A total of 17 nations are competing at the Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship 2023. Iran secured its place in the event as host for the competition. 11 nations namely – Japan, China, Chinese Taipei, Qatar, Pakistan, South Korea, India, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Hong Kong made it based on their previous edition’s performance.

While Afghanistan and Bangladesh (Central Asia), Indonesia and Thailand (Southeast Asia), and Iraq (West Asia) qualified through direct zonal wildcards. Mongolia was also granted entry from the East Asia region, but the nation withdrew from the competition.

Japan is the most accomplished team in the history of the championship, having collected a total of nine titles, four runner-ups, and four third-place finishes. Both South Korea and Iran have earned four trophies each in this continental event. China (3) and Australia (1) are the other nations to have claimed the coveted title in the competition.

A win against Iraq will help India take some positives forward ahead of the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. The team finished 9th in the last edition of the Asian Championship held in 2021.

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