(Asiad) S. Korea falls to 3-time defending champion Iran in men's volleyball quarterfinals
OKAZAKI, Japan, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea lost a heartbreaker against the three-time defending champion Iran in the men's volleyball quarterfinals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday.
South Korea won two of the first three sets before ultimately falling 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-12) against the Middle East power at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium, some 50 kilometers southeast of the main host city of Nagoya.
The loss meant South Korea has gone back-to-back Asiads without a men's volleyball medal for the first time since it first competed in the sport in 1962.
At the 2023 Asiad, South Korea finished in seventh place.
Outside hitter Heo Su-bong scored a match-high 22 points in the losing cause, while opposite Im Dong-hyeok added 18 points.
Heo Su-bong of South Korea (L) hits a spike against Iran during the teams' quarterfinal match in men's volleyball at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium in Okazaki, Japan, on Oct. 1, 2026. (Yonhap)
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