TEHRAN – Iran came from two sets behind to beat Japan 3-2 (22-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-10) in the opening match of the 2023 Asian Men’s U16 Volleyball Championship on Saturday.

The historic continental championship, which serves as the Asia’s qualification tournament for the next year’s inaugural FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship, has attracted 12 teams to vie for top honor and three berths up for grabs for the world meet.

The eight-day tournament has been split into four pools – Pools A, B, C and D. Hosts Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong China are in Pool A, while Pool B consists of Thailand and Australia (Bahrain and India withdrew). Saudi Arabia joined Iran, China and Japan in Pool C, with Pool D featuring Pakistan, Mongolia and Chinese Taipei.

Teams will play pool round-robin preliminaries.

Top three teams at the end of the championship will secure their berths in the next year’s inaugural FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship.