Kazakhstan volleyball team falls to Iran in CAVA Nations League 2025

Kazakhstan’s men’s volleyball team lost 0–3 to Iran in the first match of the semi-final group at the Central Asian Nations League, currently underway in Uzbekistan.

Although the Iranians — Asia’s vice-champions — brought a reserve squad to Fergana, they have now won four matches in a row. Against Iran, Kazakhstan had a real chance to take the second set but ultimately fell short in all three: 15–25, 28–30 and 15–25.

In another semi-final group match, India left Pakistan no chance, winning 3–0 (25–15, 25–19, 25–23). Remarkably, the match proceeded despite the strained political relations between the two countries, proving that the old saying «keep politics out of sports» still holds some truth.

To reach the final of the CAVA Nations League, Kazakhstan must defeat India by any score on the last day of the semi-final tournament. Iran is widely expected to beat Pakistan, meaning that if Kazakhstan overcomes India, they’ll face Iran again in the final. If not, they’ll play Pakistan, whom they already defeated in the earlier stage, for third place.

In the group competing for 5th to 7th places, Kyrgyzstan edged out Turkmenistan in a tight 3–2 match (19–25, 21–25, 25–15, 25–21, 15–13). Meanwhile, the tournament hosts, Uzbekistan, have lost all three of their matches.

According to Kazakhstan’s coaching staff, the Fergana competition serves as preparation for the team’s main event of the season: the Asian Nations Cup (AVC Nations Cup 2025). In Manama, Bahrain, Kazakhstan will be grouped with Qatar and Australia, with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals. The tournament will take place from June 14 to June 24.