Hanoi, Vietnam, July 15, 2019 – Indomitable China, fielding many substitutions including Zhong Hui, Sun Jie and Gao Yi, overwhelmed India with power and strength at the net to send the unfancied rivals packing in a completely lopsided battle in their last Pool C match at the 3rd Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship at Gia Lam Gymnasium here on Monday.
The exceptional 25-7 25-10 25-10 victory gave China the top spot in Pool C, while India, which went down to Chinese Taipei in straight sets on Sunday, suffered two losses in a row to be relegated to the classification for 9th-13th places.
Ace spiker Sun Jie got China off to a winning start as she scored the first three points from her spectacular attacks which baffled the opponents’ determined effort in the opening set. From then on, the battle turned out to be a one-way traffic, with China dominating the whole game. India tried to mount a challenge, with Saranya Narikunnil Salikumar and Chentna Meramambh overpowering the taller blockers with their attacks. However, their fightback was in vain. China won several points after back-to-back spikes from Sun and Zhong Hui to win the effortless set 25-7.
India upped their tempo in the second set, hoping to make amends for the first-set loss, but China roared back with mighty attacks and solid blocks. Leading 19-9, Thailand replaced Song Liqi with captain Yang Yi and showcased their brilliant skills to beat the smaller-built rivals 25-10 for a commanding 2-0 lead.
In the third set, China still put India under constant pressure from the front and back of the court with some spectacular spikes from Sun and scintillating blocking from the 194cm-tall Gao Yi and Sun. After struggling to get past the China’s blocks in the first two sets, India began to find some success early on through effective drops and digs, but shortly after that, China turned things around and took total control to win the set 25-10 and match.
“China is one of the top teams in Asia. In terms of the ranking, we are much below. My team did not play in the previous episode in Thailand and we lack international exposure and experience. I think the experience counts a lot. I’m not that happy with my team’s performance. Our blocking is not that good when coping with the China’s attacks. We also need team coordination. It’s a pity we did not make the cut for the top eight and now, we have to fight our best for the 9th position,” said India’s head coach Sadanandan. C.S after the match.
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