Dubai: Saeed Marouf, the 2013 Asian Volleyball Championship’s most valuable player (MVP) and best setter, is now looking for global domination after Iran retained their Asian crown with a 3-0 victory over South Korea on Sunday.
With this win, Iran qualify for next month’s World Grand Champions Cup, where three other continental champions, Brazil, USA and Russia, will duel with hosts Japan and one wild-card nation.
Iran have played in this competition — which is held every four years — only once in 2009 when they qualified as Asian runners-up after the then-champions Japan qualified automatically as hosts. Iran finished fifth then but a better performance now would stand them in good stead for next year’s World Championships in Poland, where their previous best standing is 19th in four appearances.
Recent success follows their World League debut this year where they finished ninth.
Marouf said of the World Grand Champions Cup: “It’s a big competition where all the big teams play. But I think, with this win, Iran have improved a lot and have more self-confidence. I think we can play with the biggest [teams] in the world.
“Iran volleyball can show more than this. We won this tournament having lost just one set throughout the entire competition, so I think we can show another good performance in Japan.”
Of his double award, Marouf, who also won an Asian Championship MVP in 2009, added: “I’m surprised because it’s very hard for a setter and a libero to win the MVP. This is a great moment and I’m very happy. I may be MVP on paper but everyone in this team played their part and deserves the credit.”
China’s Zheng Weijun also bagged a double award as best scorer and best server, while Iran dominated the rest of the individual awards, with Amir Gafour, Mohammad Mousavi and Farhad Zarif picking up respective best spiker, blocker and libero awards.
