There will be a new name on the FIVB Men’s Under-23 World Volleyball Championship trophy on Monday night as Russia and Turkey vie for the title in the gold medal match at Dubai’s Al Nasr Hall.
Italy and Cuba will play in the bronze medal match after they both suffered emphatic 3-0 losses to the finalists yesterday.
Brazil, winners of the inaugural tournament two years ago, will take on Argentina in the battle of South America in the 5th/6th place play-off with Iran and South Korea clashing in the 7th/8th place game.
As well as overall victory, Russia will also be battling to maintain their unbeaten record in Dubai. They fought aggressively to dominate Italy, winning 25-20, 25-18, 27-25 in the their semi-final, opposite top-scoring with 17 points, followed by Sergei Nikitin (13) and Igor Kiluka (12).
Turkey, meanwhile, inflicted a first defeat of the tournament on Cuba in their whitewash win of 25-19, 25-18 and 27-25 in their last four encounter, star outside hitter Gokhan Gokgoz leading the Turkey charge with 21 points.
Opposite attacker Metin Toy added 17 points in an impressive display. The Brazilians outclassed Korea 3-0 to set up a clash with Argentina, who cruised past a battling Iran 3-1.
It’s been a disappointing performance, however, for the host nation, the UAE struggling to make an impact on home soil. The UAE were whitewashed in four of the five Pool A games, losing 3-0 to Iran, Italy, Cuba and Korea, and going down 3-1 to Egypt on Wednesday
