Hanoi, Vietnam, July 20, 2019 – Sun Jie and Wu Han spearheaded gritty China to a hugely-impressive 3-0 (25-14 25-21 25-21) romp against Thailand in the action-packed semi-final clash of the 3rd Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship at Gia Lam Gymnasium here on Saturday.
The convincing win brought China to their second final showdown in both editions they took part in. In the inaugural Asian U23 Championship in the Philippines in 2015, China made it to the final and brushed off Thailand 3-1 to capture the Asian crown. Two years later, China did not take part in the second edition in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
In this 3rd edition in Hanoi, China set up a final showdown with DPR Korea. Both teams remain unbeaten en route to the showdown and as a result, either China or DPR Korea will capture the title with a remarkable unbeaten record.
On Saturday, Sun Jie performed brilliantly to score a team-high 15 points from 11 attacks from 25 attempts, 3 blocks and one ace for China, while Wu Han made good company to contribute 13 points including 11 attacks from 29 attempts. Thanacha Sooksod topscored with 14 points for Thailand including 12 attacks from 30 attempts.
Wu Han, who joined the squad which handed China the gold medal at the 2017 FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship in Mexico and who won the Best Outside Spiker in that world-class event, was on fire in the first set, immense for the team at the net and repelling wave after wave of the China’s attacks for the team’s commanding 22-12 lead. The Chinese allowed the oppositions with only two more points to wrap up the comfortable set 25-14.
Holding a 1-0 advantage, China came into the second set full of confidence. Thailand challenged seriously with Pattiya Juangjan, Wipawee Sritong and Thanacha taking turns overcoming the taller blockers with their explosive attacks, but China were on a different level with their blockers particularly outstanding and solid. China took the hard-fought set 25-21.
China gained the upper hand initially in the third set, which they led with a four-point clear at 19-15, thanks to scintillating blocks from the 194cm Gao Yi and the 192cm Zhang Qian and powerful attacks from Wu Han, Sun Jie and Song Liqi.
As China took a narrow 23-21 lead, Wu Han won a crucial point through her attack, allowing the team to reach the set point and Sun Jie and Zhang Qian successfully blocked Thanacha for the eventual 25-21 win in the set and match.
“We have good cooperation for this match and we think about every scenario of a difficult team. Thailand played very well and they gave us many challenges. We stayed calm with patience and that’s why we won. I think the key to our success today is patience. We played as a team. Everyone played her part. Against DPR Korea in the final, we will do the same thing as we did in preparation for the match against Thailand, that is we will go back and prepare for tomorrow. We hope to play well tomorrow,” China captain Yang Yi commented through English-speaking team manager Song Yue.
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