Jiangmen, China, July 6, 2024 – China demolished Thailand in straight sets and Japan powered past Korea in dramatic four-setter, but four of them advanced to Monday’s semifinals of the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium.
Contesting the round of last 8 on Saturday, China, current world champions and silver medallists at the previous edition in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan two years ago, struggled hard in the first set to beat Thailand 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-20) and Vietnam bounced back to beat Kazakhstan with comeback 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-15) win in Pool E.
In Pool F, defending champions Japan conceded one set to beat Korea 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20), while Chinese Taipei proved too strong for India to outplay the unfancied rivals 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-13).
At the conclusion of the playoff Pool E and Pool F matches in the last 8 stage on Saturday, China remained unbeaten to become the only team in the nine-day championship which have yet lost a set to their respective rivals. China topped Pool E with 6 points from two straight wins, followed by Thailand with 3 points from one win against one loss. Vietnam came in third place with 3 points from one win against one loss, while Kazakhstan finished fourth place with no point earned from two losses in a row.
Japan also continued their unbeaten streak with 6 points from two wins in succession to capture the top spot in Pool F, while Korea finished second with 3 points from one win against one loss. Chinese Taipei and winless India came in third with 3 points and fourth places with no point claimed respectively.
With only top two teams from each pool through, China, Thailand from Pool E and Japan, Korea from Pool F qualified for the Monday’s semifinals. The remaining four lower-ranked sides (teams finishing third and fourth places in Pool E and Pool F) – Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei and India were relegated to classification round for 5th-8th places.
Contesting the last day of the last 8 teams on Saturday, China brought their best players to the court at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium, managing a 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-20) shutout of Thailand and emerged triumphant in their Pool E encounter.
China, current world champions and silver medallists at the previous edition in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan two years ago, were strong offensively with the likes of Shan Lingqian and skipper Wang Yindi, both of whom joined the gold medal-winning China team at the last year’s Women’s U21 World Championship. China head coach Qi Kuang also added potential players who took part at last year’s Girls’ U19 World Championship including Li Chenxuan, Chen Houyu to his starting lineup. Thailand sent a formidable squad, many of them joined the team which finished 6th at the last year’s Girls’ U19 World Championship, where they stunned China 3-2 in the round of last 16.
Here in Jiangmen, China came up with their near-flawless performance. Despite a huge scare from Thailand in the first set, the Chinese girls displayed their height and amazing power at the net for the straight-set victory.
China’s main attackers rose to the occasion and thrived in the offensive system orchestrated by setter Zhu Hangting, with outside hitter Guo Xiangling registering 21 points (13 kills, 7 blocks, one ace), opposite Wang Yindi contributing 10 (7 kills, one block and two aces) and middle blocker Chen Houyu adding another 9 (7 kills, 2 blocks). Outside hitter Warisara Seetaloed was in her usual brilliant form and fired as many as 20 points over the three sets of the game, delivering 19 kills and one block to top the match chart of the Thai side.
Earlier, Japan lived up to their billing as the defending champions stopped the Korea’s remarkable unbeaten run with dramatic 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20) win against the spirited opponents to top Pool F.
Japan and Korea remained unbeaten ahead of their confrontation in this match, but it seemed Japan started their campaign in full force, fielding a strong lineup led by the 168cm-tall Anna Uemura, who played in the gold-winning Japan team at the previous edition and landed the Best Outside Hitter and MVP awards to her name. The team were also strong in their offensive system, orchestrated by the 185cm-tall Miku Akimoto and powerful Sae Omori. Korea also had talented players in middle blocker and skipper Kim Sebeen, outside hitters Lee Jua and Shin Eunji.
Outside hitter Miku Akimoto scored a match-high 33 points from 26 kills, 5 blocks and 2 aces for Japan, while fellow outside hitters Anna Uemura and Sae Omori kept good company to contribute 17 and 15 points respectively. Middle blocker Lee Jiyun chipped in 17 points including 14 attacks from 35 attempts on the Korea’s loss.
Meanwhile, Vietnam bounced back from the first set down to beat Kazakhstan in dramatic four sets 22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-15 to finish third place in Pool E.
Outside hitter Dang Thi Hong scored a match-high 37 points, all in kill, for Vietnam, while fellow outside hitter Nguyen Lan Vy and opposite Pham Quynh Huong added 9 and 7 points respectively. Opposite Ayaulym Turdykhanova led Kazakhstan with 17 points including 16 kills from 32 attempts.
The other Pool F match saw Chinese Taipei outperform India in comfortable straight sets 25-15, 25-20, 25-13.
Outside hitter Hsu Fang-Min chipped in 18 points from 17 kills and one ace for Chinese Taipei, while opposite Chang Yi-Chi and outside hitter HJsu Heng-Yun contributed 12 and 10 points respectively. Outside hitter Kavita led India with 12 points including 10 kills from 20 attempts.
On Sunday, lower-ranked sides will contest classification round for 9th-12th places, which sees Australia take on Hong Kong, China in the 11th-12th playoff clash and Iran challenge New Zealand to fight for the 9th position. In the 5th-8th playoff matches, Vietnam will play India and Kazakhstan meet Chinese Taipei.
The playoff matches for 5th-6th and 7th-8th places as well as the semifinals will be held on Monday, with Thailand going up against Japan and Korea challenging China in the do-or-die semifinals.
POOL RANKING AND RESULTS
POOL E
POOL F
MATCH SCHEDULE
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