Manama, Bahrain, August 3, 2024 – China barged into the final of the 15th Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championship at Isa Sport City Hall C here on Saturday night.
The Chinese, who have yet to win the tournament title but have finished runners-up twice, secured their place in the gold medal game with a thrilling hard-fought 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-8) victory against a battling Pakistan.
China are next set to face either defending and three-time Japan or former seven-time winners Iran in the final, set to take place at 7pm local time on Sunday. Pakistan will face the losing side for the bronze medal.
China came up with huge plays throughout their match to eke out the hard-earned win. A timely block by Hu Hanlin gave them the opening set and the early match advantage, but then the Pakistanis struck back in the second and drew level with a Jabran service ace.
Li Xuyang was in sensational form for China in the third frame and following a net fault by Pakistan that gave their rivals set point, Li delivered to put his team ahead 2-1.
The Chinese then appeared to be on their way to the victory after carrying over their momentum into the fourth set. They took command early and went ahead 20-15. But the Pakistanis fought back and put in a fantastic 10-3 rally – capped by a crucial error on serve that gifted them a 24-23 advantage and a misfired attack by Yu Xiang that sent the contest into a tie-break.
There, China were able to regain their composure and were not to be denied. A double block gave them a 13-8 edge and they never looked back, securing their place in the title game for the first time since 2012.
Li finished with an impressive game-high of 30 points for the winners, including three straight sets in which he scored eight each. Yu added 21 while Ding Haocheng had 15.
For Pakistan, Muhammad Yahya was their top man with 18 points, while Jabran Jabran chipped in 11.
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