Tehran, Iran, June 4
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iranian team has joined the competing teams of Rio 2016 Olympics, gaining their first-ever Olympics place with an impressive defeat of Poland, which had already qualified.
"It's time to celebrate. We've made history. We lost out by one set to Australia four years ago, which was a terrible memory for us and this could have been the last chance for some of these players to play at the Olympics," said captain Mir-Said Marouf Lakrani after the victory, Mehr news agency reported June 4.
Iran beat Poland 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 34-32) at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Shahram Mahmoudi top-scored with 24 points in a 25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 34-32 win over world champions Poland.
Poland qualified on June 2 after winning five of five matches until their unblemished record was ended by Iran.
"I feel immensely happy. It is special because it is a historic moment for Iran. The people of Iran have been waiting for this chance to go to the Olympics for a long time. I don't want to talk about statistics. I'm happy with the result. We will have a party tonight to celebrate," Iranian coach Raul Lozano said.
Iranian team has been scheduled to meet Venezuela's team on June 5.
Iranian team has beaten the teams from Australia, Canada, Japan, China and Poland and lost to France.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in a message felicitated the team on their victory, noting it for putting an end to 52 years of expectations for the national team to gain a spot in the Olympic Games.