TEHRAN – Iran defeated Japan 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 31-29) on Sunday to win the 21st Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship.

Saber Kazemi recorded 19 attacks, a block and an ace to lead Iran in scoring. His teammates Meisam Salehi and Amirhossein Toukhteh added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Japan captain Yuki Ishikawa and young star Ran Takahashi each made 16 markers in the losing effort.

After the poor performance in the 2020 Olympic Games, Iran participated in the Asian championship with the young players. The superstars like Saeid Marouf, Mohammad Mousavi, Amir Ghafour and Mehdi Marandi were not invited to the National Team.

Defending champions Iran won the title for the fourth time. Japan still are the most-decorated team in Asia with nine titles.

Saber Kazemi was named as the competition's Most Valuable Player (MVP)

Earlier in the day, China overpowered Chinese Taipei 3-0 in bronze medal match.

A total of 16 teams competed in the 21st Asian Volleyball Championship from Sept. 12 to 19 in Chiba, Japan.

Iran and Japan will also represent Asia at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Russia.

Reporting by Masoud Hossein