Iran started the 2017 Asian Men's U23 Volleyball Championship with a win over Pakistan on Monday.

In the match held in Ardabil’s Hossein Rezazadeh Hall, Juan Manuel Cichello’s men defeated Pakistan in straight sets (25-12, 29-27, 28-26) in Pool A in front of 6,000 cheering spectators.

Kazakhstan defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 in Pool B, Malaysia beat Australia 3-1 in Pool C and Japan defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in Pool D.

The competition are underway in Ardabil, Iran from 1 to 9 May 2017.

The tournament serve as the Asian qualifier for the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Men's U23 World Championship held in Cairo, Egypt which the top two ranked teams will qualify for the World Championship.