Iran's coach and captain in the mixed zone after the match with China
Brno, Czech Republic, July 2, 2017 – Although missing on their target to be among the best four teams at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship, the Iranians are happy with the next best thing – the fifth place, which they achieved with a 3-0 win against China.
Behrouz Ataei, coach of Iran: “Our championship target was to enter the top four. We lost very sadly in five sets against Poland so afterwards, our goal was to take the fifth place. So I am really satisfied with the result and also with the fact, that we finished the tournament with a victory.”
Rasoul Aghchehli, captain of Iran: “My team and I are so happy to take the fifth place. It was a tough loss on Thursday, because we absolutely wanted to play in the semifinals. Congratulations to all my teammates for closing the championship with a victory.”
Genyin Ju, coach of China: “Our last match was not good. We did not play as we should. All the matches at this tournament were hard.”
Zhihao Liu, captain of China: “Our performance toady was not optimal and our opponents were stronger.”