After a victory over World No. 9 Nigeria in its opener, India lost to host Iran (World No. 5) 22-25, 15-25, 22-25 in a Pool-A match of the FIVB World under-19 volleyball championship here on Wednesday.
Despite the loss, World No. 49 India made it to the pre-quarterfinals as Guatemala — one of the teams in India’s group — had pulled out after eight of its 12 players had tested COVID-19 positive before travelling to Iran.