Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, July 10, 2022 – China captured the second finals berth in the 21st Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship after staging a straight-sets win 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-15) against Thailand at the NU Sports Centre.
China captain Wang Yifan led all scorers with 17 points, providing leadership in key moments. Zhuang Yushan added another 10 points for China’s fifth win in as many matches.
Thailand sparked speedy plays that succeeded to outrun their taller opponents. Achirayaporn Kumjaiboon and Ampha Sonsurat exploded from the flanks to establish a good start in Sunday’s semi-final encounter.
The Thais played their transitions well, and ran astounding combinations finished off by captain Donphon Sinpho.
China seemed sluggish to react, unable to arrest the situation neither through block or upon second line. Coach Kuang Qi called in a key change, subbing in opposite Zhuang Xinru. She was set up for some attacks, but she helped improve the overall fluidity of China’s offence.
“At the beginning of the match, we were all nervous and we could not seem to relax. When the coach called us from the bench, I just tried to help everyone focus more on the game,” said Zhuang Xinru.
China went on to improve as Captain Wang Yifan started to explode, enforcing her attacks with much power. She also proved reliable when in passing, which helped to establish good counter-attack measures.
Thailand continued to play with their best assets, utilizing their quick combinations, matched with good floor coverage when the opponents came attacking.
However, China’s momentum started growing immensely, performing even better in serve and block.
They activated Zeng Jieya from the bench, to make for an intimidating presence in the middle, and even functioned well in passing.
Soon enough, the Thai hitters started to miscalculate their attacks as a result of the tall defenders they had to play against. They could no longer surmount the huge lead set forth by their opponents.
With Sunday’s victory, China qualify for the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship in 2023. They aim to take their 13th title in the competition’s history as they face defending champions Japan in the 17:30 finale on Monday, July 11.
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