Iran recovered from losing the opening set 25-19 to win the next three 25-16, 25-12 and 25-17 in Friday’s quarterfinal.

The victory secured Iran a place in the Final Four alongside China, Japan and Thailand.

Iran will face China in Saturday’s semifinal, while Japan and Thailand will meet in the other last-four match.

The winners will advance to Sunday’s gold medal match and remain in contention for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

The tournament champion will earn a direct Olympic berth, while the top three teams will qualify for the 2027 FIVB Volleyball World Cup.

For Iran, the semifinal appearance represents a major breakthrough, as the team had never previously reached the last four of the Asian championship.

Head coach Alireza Toloe Kian praised his players for achieving the milestone.

“For the first time, Iranian women volleyball players have reached the top four in Asia. I congratulate everyone on this great achievement,” Toloe Kian said.

He said the result reflected years of planning, determination and effort by Iranian women’s volleyball players.

“Reaching the top four in Asia is not an easy task in East Asia, and this result is valuable for Iranian volleyball,” he said.

Tolou Kian also said that reaching the top four in Asian women’s competition for Iran is as valuable as “winning a gold medal at the men’s world championship.”

Meanwhile, Iran captain Shabnam Alikhani said the achievement fulfilled a long-held ambition but stressed that the team was now targeting its first Asian medal.

“After 16 or 17 years, I have achieved the goal I had,” Alikhani said. “But the Iranian team has still not won an Asian medal. The players’ goal is to win a medal.”

She said the historic qualification was the result of years of hard work.

“I am very happy and proud of all my teammates. I really cannot describe how I feel because we worked so hard to reach this stage,” Alikhani said.

Iran’s comeback against Indonesia was led by opposite Elaheh Poorsaleh, who scored 29 points with 26 kills, two blocks and one ace.

Outside hitter Fatemeh Khalili added 15 points, including 13 kills and two blocks.

“I’m really proud of my teammates, my coach and everyone,” Elaheh said. “I thought we played really well against Indonesia.”

China, meanwhile, advanced to the semifinals after defeating Vietnam 3-0 in their quarterfinal.

The hosts won 25-15, 25-22 and 25-13 and have reached the last four without dropping a set in the tournament.

Outside hitters Wu Mengjie and Zhuang Yushan led China with 18 points each.

“In the playoffs, every team wants to advance, and every match is dangerous,” Wu remarked. “They played with their hearts and with great energy. We didn’t find our best rhythm in the second set, but we’ll look into it and fix it.”

Iran and China will meet at 20:00 local time in Tianjin on Saturday.

The winners of the semifinals will advance to Sunday’s gold medal match, while the losing teams will compete for the bronze medal.