Japan's Athens Olympics dream for men's volleyball all but ended Wednesday as it suffered a third straight loss after a 3-2 reverse to Iran at the men's final qualifying tournament for this summer's Games.
Japan twice came from behind in a tense affair at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium but succumbed in the final set, going down 25-22, 27-29, 18-25, 21-25, 15-12 to drop to a 1-3 record.
Only the overall winner and the best Asian team from the eight-team competition will qualify for Athens.
Elsewhere, France routed China 3-0 to maintain its perfect record and condemned China to its first defeat.