I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 24, 2019 SPORTS 15

Hassan Yazdani undergoes Persepolis, Naft Masjed Soleyman march into Hazfi Cup semis

successful knee surgery SPORTS — Persepolis and Shahin Bushehr deskfootball teams booked their places at the sem- SPORTS TEHRAN — Freestyle ifinals of the 2019-20 Hazfi Cup on Monday. deskwrestler Hassan Yazdani underwent successful surgery on his torn meniscus on Monday. The surgery was performed by orthopedist Dr. Sohrab Keyhan in Tehran. The 2016 Olympics gold medal winner tore the meniscus during the training for the 2019 World Clubs Cup held in Bojnurd, northeast of last week. Yazdani, who has already secured his place at the 2020 , missed 40th Takhti International Wrestling Cup which will be held in Kermanshah from Jan. 8 to 10. “The operation was a perfect success and Yazdani will begin rehabilitation treatment Persepolis beat first-tier Shahrdari Mahshahr 2-0 in Abadan, in the coming days. He will remain side- thanks to Ali Alipour’s second half brace. lined for six weeks and has no problem for In Masjed Soleyman, Naft defeated Shahin Bushehr 3-0 in competing at the Olympics,” Keyhani said. the extra time. Yazdani is an Olympic and World Cham- Esteghlal will meet Sepahan in Tehran and Tractor entertain pion in freestyle wrestling in two weight Mes Kerman. categories. He became Olympic champion Esteghlal are the most decorated football team in Hazfi Cup, in the 74kg category at the 2016 Summer winning the title seven times. Olympics after defeating Russian wrestler Hazfi Cup is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, Aniuar Geduev in the final. The following run by the Iranian Football Federation. year he became World Champion at the The winners of Hazfi Cup will be awarded a spot in the AFC 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Champions League. the 86 kg category. The competition was founded in 1975. He has won two world championships gold medals (2017 Paris, 2019 Nur-Sultan) so far and one gold in 2018 . Yazdani has also won a gold medal at Iranian appointed as senior the 2014 Junior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. member of WEKAF

MNA — Hossein Ezzati, the president of the Arnis commission Iranian lifters win two medals at Iranian women make history in Belt in Iran, has been selected as a senior member of World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF). Qatar Cup Wrestling World Championships Ezzati was invited by the Philippine Olympic Committee to serve as one of the members of the organizing committee of the TEHRAN — Iran’s TEHRAN — Iran’s SPORTS SPORTS 30th , also known as 2019 SEA Games, deskKianoush Rostami deskwomen’s team made a biennial regional multi-sport event which was held in Manila, and Ali Miri won silver and bronze med- history by winning the 2019 Belt Wres- November 30-December 11. als respectively at the 6th edition of Qatar tling World Championships for the first During the event and in a meeting attended by the officials of Weightlifting International Cup on Sunday. time on Monday. Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Qatar’s weightlifting star Fares Ibrahim Team Melli claimed the title with 93 Federation and members of the WEKAF, Ezzati was selected Hassouna won the title after hoisting a points, followed by Kyrgyz Republic (89) by the majority of votes as a senior member to serve a four-year total of 404kg in the 96kg category after and (63). term at the WEKAF. lifting 176kg in snatch and 226kg in clean The Iranian women won three medals Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima, is the national martial and jerk. in the competition. art of the Philippines, which involves weapon-based fighting Rostami took the silver with 403kg Hanieh Ashouri seized a gold medal at with sticks, knives, bladed weapons, and various improvised (178kg snatch, 225kg clean and jerk). the +75kg after defeating her Belarusian weapons, as well as techniques without weapons. And bronze medal went to Miri who rival in the final match of +75kg. lifted 371kg in total (162kg snatch, 207 in eight categories during this year’s edition On Sunday, Fatemeh Fattahi Juyba- that is one of the oldest historically record- clean and jerk). of the annual championship. ri won a silver medal at the 60kg and ed sports. It involves contestants aiming Iranian female weightlifters Elham The tournament is a qualification event Zahra Yazdani claimed a bronze medal to knock each other over by grappling Qualifying for Tokyo 2020 Hosseini (76kg) and Parisa Jahanfekrian for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and is host- in the 55kg. with a belt. (87kg) came ninth and seventh, respectively. ed by the Qatar Weightlifting Federation Iran took part in the event in Nur-Sul- The competitions were held in vital for Australia, Female lifters compete under seven (QWF) under the auspices of the Interna- tan, Kazakhstan with six female wrestlers. Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan from Decem- weight classes while men vie for honors tional Weightlifting Federation. Belt Wrestling is a form of wrestling ber 20 to 23. says Arnold

VAR set for historic full debut at Thailand 2020 Qualification for the Olympic Games in Tokyo next summer is “crucial” for the further development of Australia’s footballing Asian football will reach another historic milestone with improve our competitions and the footballing world saw talent says head coach Graham Arnold as the countdown con- the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system making its full the undeniable success and quality of our match officials. tinues towards the 2020 AFC U23 Championship in Thailand tournament debut at the upcoming AFC U23 Championship “I am confident that we will build on our success and next month. Thailand 2020, which is scheduled to take place across the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 presents an- Arnold, who coaches the U23 side as well as the senior side, three cities – Bangkok, Buriram and Songkhla – between other opportunity to underline the remarkable standards has been charged with leading his nation’s attempt to qualify January 8 to 26, 2020. of Asian refereeing.” for the Olympic football tournament in Japan as the Australians Having made its successful debut from the quarter-final All match officials appointed to support the implemen- seek to secure a spot at the Finals for the first time since 2008. stage of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 in January, the AFC tation of the VAR at the AFC U23 Championship Thailand The 56-year-old former striker coached his nation at the tour- U23 Championship Thailand 2020 will be the first AFC 2020 have been trained to the stringent standards and nament in China almost 12 years ago and he believes Australia’s competition to implement the VAR system in all 32 matches. requirements put in place by the International Football players will benefit in the future if they can claim one of the three Adding greater significance to this year’s edition, 15 of Association Board (IFAB). tickets on offer for the Tokyo Games at January’s U23 finals. the 16 teams will also be competing for places in the 2020 To guarantee the AFC can implement the established “The Olympic tournament for this age group is nearly as Tokyo Olympics, where the best three sides will join hosts and approved guidelines by the IFAB, the AFC has organ- important as the World Cup is for the senior players,” Arnold Japan as ’s representatives next July. ized six courses and seminars since March 2017, ensuring told the-AFC.com. AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Asian match officials are able to implement the highest “The Olympics is a special occasion and I’ve had the privilege who experienced first-hand the VAR’s debut at the Video VAR standards and protocols. of being a few times and it’s a truly wonderful experience for Operations Room in the UAE, said: “Asian football is al- The VAR system will be limited to four game-changing of football development. everybody involved. ready world-class and we are determined to ensure that decisions or incidents which are - goal or no goal, penal- “We saw the incredible amount of work undertaken in “This is the next step for the players who are just a little bit we continue to remain a model Confederation in adopting ty-kicks, red cards and mistaken identity decisions. preparation for the AFC Asian Cup in the UAE. It was a de- short of being in the full national team, to get international ex- the latest in technology and best practices across all areas (Source: the-afc) cision that showcased the AFC’s ambitions to continuously perience and develop the players as individuals for the next step into the senior team. “For me it’s crucial and when you look at the winners from 2020 AVC beach volleyball calendar announced for Olympic season many years ago, and even around 2016 with winning the The AVC has released the 2020 AVC Beach Semi-Finals in China between June 20 and in the South Pacific Ocean, will have the between April 29 to May 3. tournament and in 2008 with Lionel Messi and the Volleyball Calendar on Saturday, featuring 22 and the AVC Continental Cup Finals from honour of being the first Oceania country Also in May, Vietnam will host the World Tour side they had, it shows how powerful the Olympic campaign is. two top-flight competitions in the Asian Senior June 25 to 28 also in China will be the AVC’s outside Australia to organize an FIVB World women-only, 1-star event in Tuan Chau Islands “To give the players international experience for their devel- Championships and the AVC Continental Cup next two events which will outline the last Tour event when they will host a men-only from May 6 to 9 and the double-gender 3-star opment it is crucial.” Finals as well as an increase in the number of two hurdles to be cleared by teams in build 1-star tournament from January 14 to 17. event in Jinjiang, China between May 13 and 17. Under Arnold Australia exited the 2008 Olympic Games at FIVB World Tour 1-4-star events to be held up to the Tokyo 2020. The next two stops will be the FIVB World Ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games the end of the group stage as a Messi-inspired Argentina went in brand new hosts cities in Asia. The last AVC event is set to be held in Tour 2-star events in Cambodia – the wom- between July 24 and August 9, two World on to win the gold medal in Beijing. The double-gender Asian Senior Cham- August when Chinese Taipei will organize en-only tournament in Siem Reap between Tour events will be held in Asia, with the Australia have not qualified since and their hopes of challeng- pionships between February 12 and 16 in the AVC Beach Tour Open in Penghu Islands. February 12 and 16 and the men-only event women-only 1-star event being held in Daegu, ing for a place in Tokyo in the summer rest on making a strong Udon Thani, Thailand will get the 2020 AVC Meanwhile, beach volleyball fans have in Phnom Penh from February 20 to 23. Korea between July 9 and 12 and in the same start in the group phase of January’s competition, where they Beach Volleyball Calendar off the ground, a great year to look forward to with as Bandar Abbas, Iran will next host the FIVB period, the double-gender 2-star event will have been drawn in Group A to face hosts Thailand as well as while New Zealand will host the AVC’s second many as 42 events featured on the 2019- World Tour men-only 3-star event during March take place in Qidong, China. Iraq and Bahrain. event of the year in the AVC Continental Cup 2020 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 3 and 7, followed by the World Tour wom- The next three stops will be hosted by “Every draw is a challenge in Asia these days and there’s no Phase 1 – Oceania Zone from March 10 to 12. Calendar and the beach volleyball tourna- en-only 1-star event in Guam and the World Korea and Oman, all of them the 1-star events. doubt all three teams will put a lot of preparation into the tour- After conclusion of the two season-open- ment at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Tour men-only 4-star event in Doha, Qatar. The first two women-only tournaments will nament so we’ve got a good group of players, an exciting group ing, double-gender tournaments, Phuket, between July 24 and August 9 another Elsewhere, the double-gender World Tour take place in Korea – Buyeo during July 30 of players that are doing well,” said Arnold. Thailand will next serve as the battleground highlight of the season. 1-star event in Malaysia will take place from and August 2 and Busan from August 6 to “Half of our squad is based in Europe and are doing well indi- for the Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Cham- The 2020 FIVB beach volleyball calendar March 12 to 15 in Langkawi. Australia, Phil- 9, while the men-only 1 star event will be vidually at their clubs and the other half are based in Australia, pionships during March 12 and 15. includes 22 events to be held in Asia where new ippines and Thailand will be the next three held in Salalah, Oman from August 19 to 22. so it’s a good blend. We’ll have a good mix when we finalize the The all-action summer sport of beach venues in Singapore and new events in Laos, stops for the FIVB World Tour events in The season-ending World Tour in Asia squad and we’re looking forward to the tournament ahead.” volleyball then returns to the sands of Samila Cambodia, Korea, the Cook Islands, Guam, Asia. The double-gender World Tour 3-star will be held in Thailand when Roi-Et will While Australia’s record at the AFC U23 Championship is Beach in Songkhla, Thailand for the 2020 Iran and China have already been confirmed event in Australia will be held at Coolangatta organize the double-gender FIVB U19 Beach disappointing, with the country only progressing beyond the AVC Beach Tour Samila Open between April to host such action-packed competitions. from March 18 to 22, while the double-gen- Volleyball World Championships between group phase once since the event was inaugurated in 2013, Ar- 14 and 17. All participating players will stand Focusing on the great achievements of der World Tour 1-star events in Boracay, September 1 and 6. nold has high hopes for his team. a chance of celebrating the Songkran Festival the sport so far and plans for a bright future, Philippines and in Satun, Thailand will be In line with the FIVB Beach Volleyball “I truly believe we have the players in the right state and that (Water Splashing Ceremony) one day ahead the FIVB Beach Volleyball Calendar will start organized from March 26 to 29 and April Commission’s policy for future event strat- we’ve had some good preparation in terms of games in September, of the matchdays in the host city. the season-opening campaign in Asia with 8 to 11 respectively. egy, the AVC makes it clear to deliver the October and November in the FIFA windows,” he said. Can Tho, Vietnam will serve as the the FIVB World Tour men-only 1-star event Three more FIVB World Tour events best possible events for the players, fans and “We will go into camp 10 days before our first game, we’ll get next stop for the 2020 AVC Beach Tour. in Qeshm, Iran between January 7 and 10. will be held in Asia in April, all of them the sponsors as well as providing an increased across to Malaysia and acclimatize there with a game against The women-only competition will be held After that, the Cook Islands, which com- double-gender 4-star events – in Singapore number of opportunities for Asian countries Korea Republic. The boys are all in good shape, they’re doing between April 20 and 23. prises 15 islands with a total land area of 240 from April 15 to 19, in Yangzhou, China dur- to host beach volleyball events. well and we’re very confident of what’s ahead.” The double-gender AVC Continental Cup square kilometers (93 square miles) and is ing April 22 and 26 and in Xiamen, China (Source: asianvolleyball) (Source: the-afc)