Sofia, Bulgaria, September 21, 2018 – Co-hosts Bulgaria beat Iran 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 26-24) in their opening Pool G match. Lions hit 11 aces with Todor Skrimov accounting for seven setting a new record for a World Championship game.
Todor Skrimov, player of Bulgaria: “Apparently we forgot our serve in Sofia and didn’t bring it to Varna for the first round. Now we’ve found it. It‘s great that we managed to press the opponent from the very first point. That was the difference from the match against Iran in Varna. We never stopped to believe but after today's victory we are even more confident. The USA and Canada are stronger than Iran, but we’ll give our best to beat them. Even though USA is among the favorites for the title we still believe we can win.”
Plamen Konstantinov, head coach of Bulgaria: “We were a team that wanted to win. The difference from Varna was that today we believed we could win. In the first match we gave Iran too much respect. It’s good for you to respect your opponents, but in the first match we were much more precarious. Now we were another team with a spark in the eyes. The USA makes a very strong championship and they are among the favorites to win the world title. But I hope we’ll have great support in Sofia and the fans will add what we lack.”
Igor Kolakovic, head coach of Iran: “It was a completely different game than the first in Varna. From the beginning Bulgaria started to serve really strong without a mistake. We tried to find a way to get closer in the score, but we didn’t succeed. In the other two sets we had our opportunities but once again Bulgarian team had a very good serve which destroyed our hopes. I can just congratulate them for tonight’s victory. The good atmosphere at home is also a very important factor especially for teams such as Bulgaria.”
Mohammadjavad Manavinezhad, player of Iran: “We came to win this match. Bulgaria was very good and this surprised us with their serve. They were very successful which was very difficult for us. Congrats for them!“