Iranians Rahman Raoufi/Bahman Salemi smashed Indonesia’s dreams to underline supremacy in the men’s event at the Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships on Monday.

Team Melli defeated Candra Rachmawan/Mohammad Asfiya in hard-fought three-set thriller 22-20 12-21 15-12 in exhausting 50 minutes to clinch the men’s title.

 “First, I would like to thank Thai people for the great hospitality and supports. This tournament is one of the best events in Asian Tour and Asian Championships as well. I really enjoyed playing here. This match was very important for us because it was the gold-medal match. I think we prepared well for this match. We tried to keep our brain fresh and stay focused in every point because our opponents were very strong. We just wanted to fight until the last point and we are very happy to win the Asian title here. We look forward to coming back next year,” said Rahman Raoufi after the final match.

In the third-place playoff earlier, Australians Chris McHugh/Damien Schumann claimed a bronze medal following a sensational 23-21 21-14 victory over Qataris Julio Nascimento/Ahmed Tijan.

In the awards presentation, the men’s champions Rahman Raoufi/Bahman Salemi from Iran received gold medal and US$7,500 cash prize, while silver medallists Candra Rachmawan/Mohammad Asfiya from Indonesia and bronze medallists Chris McHugh/Damien Schumann from Australia took home US$6,000 and US$4,500 respectively.