TEHRAN – Women’s volleyball coach Mitra Shabanian has predicted a bright future for the Iranian team.

Team Melli have traveled to Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand on Saturday to compete at the 2020 Women's Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament.

Iran have been drawn in Pool B along with Indonesia, South Korea and Kazakhstan.

Pool A consists of Chinese Taipei, Australia and Thailand.

The top two of each pool advance to crosswise semifinals, followed by the deciding match and the winners will qualify to the 2020 women's Olympic volleyball tournament.

“I believe in these young players because we’re talking about a generation that can make a change in our volleyball. We are going to improve with our young and experienced players. I have already said this is our second team. The team have an average age of 20 years and average height of 181 centimeters,” Shabanian said.

“We’ve finished in seventh and eighth place in the previous editions but I hope that we come in a better place in the near future. They are here to make it happen. If we discover our talented players and they get investment at just the right time, I have no doubt we can shine in the continent in the future,” she added.  

The 2020 Women's Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament is a volleyball tournament for women's national teams organized by Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), and will be held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand from Jan. 7 to 12, 2020.