September 24, 2023
Pakistan volleyball team coach Issanaye Ramires Ferraz — a Brazilian national — cried tears of joy after the Men in Green thrashed South Korea 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals in the ongoing Asian Games 2023.
Pakistan faced South Korea on September 22 in the Round of 12 stage and kept their dominance throughout the game. With their stunning win, Pakistan qualified for the quarter-finals against Qatar.
A video of the Pakistan coach went viral showing Ferraz in tears. After the stunning victory, the Green Shirts’ coach couldn't hold back his tears during an interview. He praised the players of the side for giving their all in the game.
"There is no dimension to victory, you have no idea what these guys do to come to the court. It's very difficult, very difficult but we knew it was possible," he said.
"For the level of the commitment of the athletes, for the level of dedication we have in the work, for the physical quality they have," he added.
"I already had this result before with another team (Bahrain) in the Asian Cup and we knew what we had to do to win. They concentrated very well to do it," he maintained.
It must be noted that Pakistan won the match with the scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 25-21.
Usman Faryad and Murad Khan proved their worth with their all-round display as the former scored 20 points while the latter contributed to 18 points for the winning side.
Pakistan also cemented their place in the top six teams with their win over South Korea.
This is the first time since the 1994 Asian Games that a Pakistani side has confirmed their place in the top six.
Earlier, Pakistan topped group B by registering remarkable wins over considerably weak Chinese Taipei and Mongolia sides.
The Green Shirts beat Chinese Taipei in straight sets, 25-18, 25-20, 25-19.
Meanwhile, against Mongolia, their winning scores were 25-17, 25-19 and 25-20.
Pakistan’s biggest achievement in the Asian Games volleyball history is their third-place finish in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games. In the last Asian Games held in Indonesia in 2018, Pakistan finished eighth.
In the nail-biting quarter-finals, Qatar beat Pakistan by 3-1 on Sunday (today).
Abdul Zaheer, Hamid Yazman, Farooq Haider, Murad Khan, Murad Jehan, Mohammad Hammad, Musawar Khan, Nasir Ali, Usman Faryad Ali, Mubashar Raza (captain), Mohammad Kashif Naved, Afaq Khan; Officials: Issanaye Ramires Ferraz (coach), Naseer Ahmed, Ihsan Iqbal, Armin Golkari (video analyst), Lucas Ferreira Rodrigues (trainer), Saeed Ahmed Khan (manager).