TOKYO, May 25: China posted a third straight win over their Asian rivals by defeating Iran to remain unbeaten in the men's volleyball final qualifying round for the Athens Olympics on Tuesday.
Last year's Asian championship runners-up squandered match points when leading 24-21 in the third set before finally prevailing against the Asian bronze medallists for a 25-16, 25-23, 31-33, 25-22 victory.
World championship bronze medallists France were 25-16, 25-13, 25-16 winners over Asian champions South Korea for a 3-0 win-loss record to move a step closer towards winning one of the two Olympics berths on offer.
Australia and Canada trailed the top two teams with 2-1 records, followed by Japan and Iran with 1-2, ahead of winless South Korea and Algeria in the eight-nation round robin.
The winners of the event and top-finished Asian nation will qualify for the Olympics. Australia, fourth in the Asian championships last year, had to fight against a vociferous home crowd to beat Japan 21-25, 25-17, 25-14, 19-25, 15-13, while Canada outgunned Algeria 25-13, 25-16, 25-21.
France's victory on Tuesday was sweet revenge for their surprise loss to South Korea in the World Cup last year here, where they finished fifth to miss out on an automatic berth in Athens. -AFP
