Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, June 12, 2022 – The Chinese efforts at the 14th Asian Women’s U18 Volleyball Championship reached their great heights on Sunday when the former four-time winners produced fantastic comeback 3-1 (25-27, 25-16, 25-10, 25-23) win against undefeated Korea to storm into the final showdown of this topflight championship.
The dramatic win before a large number of crowd inside the Nakhon Pathom Sports Center Gymnasium on Sunday made China eligible for the Monday’s final, their 10th in history. The Chinese side are due to battle it out with the winners in the other semifinal clash between title-holders Japan and hosts Thailand.
On Sunday, China made a dismal start in the first set to trail Korea, which did not drop a single set to their respective rivals en route to their semifinals, with four points behind at 4-8. With Kim Sabeen methodically tearing the Chinese defence apart, Korea seemingly took control of the set.
After that, China upped their tempo and scored back-to-back points to catch the Koreans at 24-24. From then on, both sides poured everything they had to win the set, but the resilience was showcased through the Korean spectacular blocking and explosive attacks. China lost the nail-biting battle 25-27.
Going down one set, China regained their composure and fought back mightily. As the Koreans were riddled with several unforced attacking mistakes, the Chinese grabbed the chance to attack devastatingly and block solidly to win the next two sets without much efforts 25-16, 25-10.
The fourth set was more thrilling with points traded through attacks, blocks and serves. Shin Linqian remained the key force to be reckoned for China as she overcame the smaller blockers with her exceptional attacks. During the hotly-contested battle which saw the score levelled at 23-23, the Chinese held their nerves and went on their aggressive attacks to bag the last two points for the hard-fought 25-23 win in the set, match and a final berth.
Wang Yindi scored a match-high 26 points for China including 24 attacks from 45 attempts, while Shin Eunji led Korea with 18 points including 14 attacks from 31 attempts.
After the match, Ye Wen, head coach of China, expressed his satisfaction over the victory, “I am happy that we won. For me, win or lose was not important. It was so important for me to see my players grow day by day. Probably we will play Japan in the final tomorrow and if so, I think a daunting task awaits us. Still, we will do our best.”
Chang Yoon Hee, head coach of Korea, said after the loss to China, “I am terribly shocked with my players’ performance. What you saw today was not what we had initially planned. However, we will try to boost our focus and play better in the consolation third-place playoff for a better position.”
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