Iran 🇮🇷 vs Japan 🇯🇵 | Bronze Medal Match | AVC Women's Continental Championship 2026 | Highlights

Iran vs Japan | Bronze Medal Match | AVC Women's Continental Championship 2026 | Highlights. The "2026 Women's Asian Championship" is being held in Tianjin, China from August 21st (Friday).

The Japanese women's volleyball team, ranked 6th in the FIVB world rankings (before the match), faced Iran, ranked 38th, on Sunday, August 30th, and won in straight sets, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 26-24), securing a spot in the 2027 World Cup, which is awarded to the top three teams in this tournament.

In the early stages of the first set, after an exchange of side-outs, Japan took a 6-4 lead with a service ace from Yoshino Sato and a feint from Haruyo Shimamura. Iran fought back with tenacious defense, tying the score at 12-12. A block by Maki Yamaguchi made it 17-14, and Japan found their rhythm in attack, extending their lead to 19-15 with back attacks from Sato and others. However, errors due to poor serve reception allowed Iran to close the gap to 21-19, but towards the end of the set, Ayane Kitamado's serve disrupted the opponent, leading to consecutive points and a score of 24-20. Finally, an Iranian service error gave Japan the set 25-21. Japan won the first set.

In the second set, Japan's defense was effective from the start, and when they took an 8-4 lead, Iran called a timeout. A service ace from Ishikawa Mayu and a quick attack from Yamaguchi were successful in succession, extending Japan's lead to 14-8. Then, consecutive service aces from Wada Yukiko made it 18-11. After an exchange of side-outs, a feint from Wada was successful to make it 23-16, and finally, Wada scored from the right to win the set 25-16.

At the start of the third set, Japan struggled against Iran's defense and fell behind 0-3, prompting them to call a timeout. Shimamura's block and quick attack narrowed the gap to 6-7, and Wada's attack tied the score at 9-9. Yamaguchi's consecutive blocks then gave Japan a 12-10 lead. However, Iran scored consecutive points, putting them back in the lead at 12-14, and with an Iranian block making it 15-18, Japan called another timeout. Consecutive errors by Iran brought the score to 20-20, and the end of the set saw a back-and-forth battle. In the end, Ishikawa scored consecutive points to win the set 26-24, securing a straight-sets victory over Iran with a set score of 3-0.

Mayu Ishikawa

"I have very mixed feelings, but I'm glad that we were able to win on the first day of securing our ticket to the next Olympics after yesterday's loss. From here on, I'm determined to work hard towards the next stage. (Regarding my feelings when I stepped onto the court) I wanted to play well, but there were parts that I couldn't quite get into. A lot of people were cheering for us, so I played in a way that I could deliver a victory to them. (Looking back on the Asian Championships) I felt that the unseen aspects of this team were reflected in our play, and Japan's strengths are in its connections, and because of that, we can fight as a team more effectively, but that was reflected in the result. We need to review ourselves again, and instead of pretending not to see it, we need to properly reflect on those aspects." That's how I personally felt about the tournament. (The reason for the tears after the match) First of all, it's because we didn't achieve the result we were aiming for in this tournament. Personally, I feel really sorry because we were supported by so many people and so many people cheered us on. I'm really frustrated that we couldn't get the results we wanted, and I felt more regret than happiness. (Message to the fans) So many people cheered us on, and we were really helped by their support. That's why we wanted to repay them with results, but we couldn't, and I feel sorry about that. However, I think this has been an experience that we can use to move forward, so I hope you will continue to support us, and I want to create a team that can be supported even more."

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