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The story
Iran defeated Australia 3-1 to reach the final of the Men’s Asian Volleyball Championship. The win puts Iran on the verge of qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but head coach Roberto Piazza exploded with frustration over a schedule that forces teams into three straight matches with zero rest days starting from the quarterfinals, saying “Why is this so insane?” On 5ch, opinions split over whether the grueling schedule was driven by TV broadcast and tournament-organizing interests, and whether Japan’s national team alone was getting a favorable schedule.
◆Volleyball ▽ Men’s Asian Championship, Day 9, Semifinal: Iran 3-1 Australia (September 12, at Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium)
Iran (2nd in their preliminary pool), chasing a fifth title and their first in two tournaments, edged out Australia (6th in their pool) 3-1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-17, 25-22) to clinch a spot in the final. Though the win puts Iran on the verge of securing a berth at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, head coach Roberto Piazza exploded with frustration over the schedule after the match.
Looking back on the match against Australia, he said, “It was a tough match. Australia has experienced players. We knew it would be a very, very, very difficult match for us. Winning the second set and bringing the match back to even was the key point,” reflecting a sense of satisfaction.
Source: hochi.news / Original article here
What people said
Only the host country benefits from it, so I get why he's angry.
Maybe just rugby and cricket.
Australia seems to love these mystery sports that only exist in Australia lol
Japan gets 3 rest days while other countries get zero?
This is exactly why Japan volleyball (the organizers) is hated worldwide.
Re: #1 actually says:
"Like Japan, Iran plays three straight matches too — quarterfinal on the 11th, won today's semifinal, and the final on the 13th"
…so?
Still, they should at least give them one rest day, right?
They move more than baseball players do.
Don't you know Australia got knocked out in the group stage at the last Rugby World Cup?
Both rugby league and union are losing popularity domestically too.
Cricket's doing great though.
It's an international tournament.
The Asian federation decides the tournament sponsors.
"Daikichi~" (doing an IKKO impression)
Reminds me of the pitcher on Aichi's team doing an Antonio Inoki face impression at last summer's Koshien lol
Though obviously more than baseball.
If you want rest days, go earn more success.
Since the tournament started, Japan's matches have all had a fixed 7:30 PM start time, so the conditions are actually quite different.
Within the same jam-packed week-plus schedule, other countries' start times vary day to day, anywhere from 10 AM to 7:30 PM.
There's no way any player is actually tired after a match lol
Volleyball players get tired because they jump, just like the Maasai (known for their jumping dance).
Volleyball players are being way too soft.
Sure, go have the same starting pitcher throw every single day then.
Well, that's just soccer being a special case.
Background and Talking Points
The Men’s Asian Championship carries Los Angeles Olympic qualification stakes, and reaching the final means playing three matches with zero rest days between them starting from the quarterfinals. As the article notes, Iran — just like Japan — was also forced into this same three-match grind, and it was later pointed out in the thread that some posters had misread the article and jumped to the conclusion that “only Japan is being favored.” That said, there’s also the point that Japan’s matches have been fixed at a 7:30 PM start time throughout the tournament, while other countries’ matches have varied start times ranging from 10 AM to 7:30 PM — so it isn’t simply a clear-cut case of fair versus unfair. The grueling schedule itself appears to stem from TV broadcasting and sponsor considerations, and opinions were also divided on just how physically demanding volleyball really is, depending on whether posters compared it to soccer or to baseball.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “[Volleyball] Iran reaches final but coach explodes with frustration: ‘It’s insane. Only at this tournament. Why is it so insane?’ — grueling 3-match schedule from the quarterfinals“.
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