This team is confirmed now. Mirzajanpour didn't make it at the end.
I have to say it's still hard to believe that Sharifi is going to play in Tokyo. he wasn't even in the VNL original squad (he got in when Manavinejad got injured) and Alekno didn't even use him for the first half of VNL. and he didn't really "shine" when he got some playing time. I can't understand why but I'm sure Alekno has his own reasons.
but one thing is for sure, Iran will be in big trouble if either Ebadipour or M.Salehi has a bad day. Sharifi is going to Tokyo only because Fayazi, Mirzajanpour and Manavinejad got injured (and didn't fully recover in time) and Esfandiar didn't convince Alekno in VNL. Alekno claimed he gave Esfandiar lots of opportunities. more than what he deserved but he is overweight and his reception and block are mediocre (his reception is actually terrible) it's clear that Esfandiar was his choice but then he changed his mind.
Understandable Sharifi can go to Tokyo, considering the team’s current condition. Iran needs at least one defensive/well-rounded OH as backup. Sharifi’s direct competitors are Fayazi, Manavi and Ghaemi; I believe Ghaemi was invited to join the training camp mostly because of Fayazi’s injury. Since his competitors are all injured or not in shape, Sharifi is the only option left.
Mirzajanpour and Esfandiar are offensive-type OHs and they never compete with Sharifi for a place in the Olympic squad. I believe Alekno would like to bring one of them to Tokyo, but they didn’t make the cut simply because of performance. In addition, the unstable performance of Ebadipour is quite a concern. That paves way for Mirandi to grab the final seat.
I think Iran is still short of one more OH in the reserve squad, but this hole simply cannot be filled at the moment. It’s a big misfortune that Fayazi is injured; he would be the best backup for Ebadipour, and could also play as Ebadipour’s opposite if needed.