(by Steve Hopkins)
Hangzhou is the host of the 2023 Asian Games. The Team Events have progressed to the Final Four with China set to face Taipei on Monday, and Korea set to face…. Iran. That’s not a typo, Iran topped Vietnam in the first knock out round and then topped Japan 3-0 in the Quarterfinals to advance to the Semis.
In team events, Japan has been struggling to find help for their anchor, World No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto. But even as they struggle on paper with lower ranked players, those players (Shinozuka at No. 34, and Togami at No. 41, and Uda at No. 45) are all well above Iran’s squad. That squad, incidentally, is made up of Noshad Alamiyan (World No. 53), Amir Hodaei (No. 133), Amirahdi Keshavarzi (No. 207), and Nima Alamian (No. 208). The story for today’s team match was that last player, 30 year old Nima Alamian, who has only won about 53% of his tour matches, but who today had one of the strongest backhands in the world. Alamian is by no means a novice, he played in the Olympics in 2016 (along with his brother Noshad – who spells his last name differently).
You’ll see in the match (video below) that Noshad Alamian faced off against Harimoto and the two traded big shots throughout. Harimoto won the first game 11-8. The second game went to Alamian easily – jumping out to a 6-2 lead and then coasting. Game 3 saw a 2-point advantage until Harimoto lead 7-5, just to see Alamian run off 5 points in a row. Harimoto fought back to tie the score and eventually it was a 17-15 marathon win for harimoto (for the 2-1 lead). Alamian came out swinging again in the fourth game, and led 4-0 before Harimoto scored for the first time – again, and early lead where Alamian milked his lead to an easy 11-6 win. With the score tied 2-2, the final game was a highlight show. Each player hit amazing shots from both sides for winners, both hit blistering counters – and when the last ball fell wide, it was a 16-14 win for Alamian that took the wind out of the sails for Japan. Alamian largely served long to Harimoto’s backhand creating free-swinging rallies. Balls to Alamian’s forehand were crushed – in what was likely lower percentage than most players on tour, but shots that were landing today. Balls to Alamian’s backhand were also crushed – mostly crosscourt, just daring Harimoto to equal his power and intensity. With their top player falling to Iran’s bottom player, Japan failed to recover. Noshad Alamian defeated Shunsuke Togami 3-2, and then Amirhossein Haddadi defeated Daiki Yoshimura 3-2. Iran tops Japan 3-0 and advances to face Korea tomorrow.
In the Women’s Team Event, China will face Thailand in one Semifinal, and Korea will face Japan in the other Semifinal. Thailand’s win over North Korea in the Quarterfinals is the only upset of the tournament thus far.
The semifinal matches in both Men’s and Women’s events will be played on Monday. The Finals are scheduled for Tuesday. Singles will kick off next.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Yoy-6idH0
