“Ah! The Wall of Iran” – Men’s Volleyball Suffers Heartbreaking Five-Set Comeback Loss Amid “Heroic Efforts by Heo Su-bong and Im Dong-hyuk”… Eliminated in Quarterfinals, “No Medal for Second Consecutive Games” [Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean men’s volleyball team has tasted the bitter pill of a “no-medal” finish at the Asian Games for the second consecutive edition.

The Korean Nam Ja-bae-gu (CEO) team (world ranking 25th), led by head coach Isanae Ramirez, suffered a narrow 2-3 set loss to defending champions Iran (19th) in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on the 1st at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Korea, which had endured the humiliation of a no-medal finish for the first time in 61 years after being eliminated in the round of 12 at the previous Hangzhou Games, was firmly determined to restore its honor at this tournament. However, failing to overcome powerhouse Iran in the quarterfinals, the team once again packed up without reaching the podium.

Korea started the day under a cloud, as Im Seong-jin (Korean COLONY Military Team), who suffered an ankle injury during the group stage match against China, was sidelined. Despite this loss of firepower, the “dynamic duo” of Heo Su-bong (Hyundai Capital) and Im Dong-hyuk (Korean Air) fought valiantly, scoring 22 and 18 points respectively—the highest totals on both teams.

In contrast, Iran applied pressure on Korea with balanced firepower, as six attackers recorded double-digit scores despite committing a staggering 38 unforced errors.

The flow of the match was like a roller coaster. After dropping the first set 23-25, Korea turned the tide in the second set as attacks by Heo Su-bong and Im Dong-hyuk came alive and Han Tae-jun (Woori Card) delivered a service ace, leveling the series at 25-18.

Riding high, Korea appeared poised to pull off an upset by taking the third set as well. Seizing the opportunity as Iran collapsed on its own with 12 errors in that set alone, Korea secured the set 25-21.

However, in the fourth set, Iran’s quick attacks came back to life, and Korea dropped the set 20-25, sending the match to a decisive fifth set. Early in the fifth set, Korea stuck tenaciously, closing the gap to 8-9, but a fatal service error and a painful blocked attack quickly shifted momentum. Although Korea kept the last embers of hope alive with three consecutive points at match point, it ultimately had to accept defeat when Heo Su-bong’s serve landed out of bounds.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.