Day 4 Wrap-Up
Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, April 28, 2023 – King Whale Taipei powered past Paykan for two wins in a row in Pool A to secure a semifinal berth in the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium on Friday, as Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force and Liaoning Donghua VC faced little problems in respectively outplaying Khuvsgul Erchim and Hip Hing VC in Pool B.
King Whale Taipei still proved to be one of the strongest teams to be reckoned with in the eight-day topflight club championship in Vinh Phuc here. Their exceptional 25-14, 25-10, 19-25, 25-18 victory against Iran’s Women’s Premier League 2022/23 champions Paykan has guaranteed in advance the Chinese Taipei outfits a place in the Top Four because Pool A featured only four teams, with each team playing only three matches.
As a result, with only top two teams through to the semifinals, King Whale Taipei as well as hosts Vietnam’s Sport Center 1, both teams with two straight wins, have made the cut for the Top Four. The highly-anticipated match between them on Saturday will determine the Pool A winners.
With the aforementioned two teams in the Top Four, the remaining two in Pool A – Hisamitsu Springs, champions at the Japan’s 2021/22 V. League Division 1 and the 2002 and 2014 Asian Club winners, and Paykan – have been relegated to classification round of the championship to fight for 5th-9th places. The last preliminary match among them on Saturday will automatically decide the 3rd and 4th places in Pool A.
In Pool B, China’s Liaoning Donghua overcame a strong challenge from fast-improving Hip Hing VC in the first set to storm past the smaller-built but determined opponents from Hong Kong, China in straight sets 25-20, 25-8, 25-14 to continue their remarkable unbeaten run without dropping a set to their respective rivals in the championship.
The convincing win on Friday has made Liaoning Donghua, which clinched the Chinese Volleyball Super League in the 2005/06 season, but finished 7th at the current 2022/23 season, the invincible giants in Pool B. However, a daunting task awaits them on Saturday when they will go up against Diamond Food, the last year’s bronze medallists in Kazakhstan and the former consecutive two-time Thailand League champions Diamond Food in their last preliminary match.
The Thai outfits fielded a formidable roster in this championship including highly-experienced setter Nootsara Tomkom and four Thailand national team players who joined the last year’s VNL campaign consisting of powerful hitter Sasipaporn Janthawisut, middle blocker Tichakorn Boonlert, opposite Wipawee Srithong and another middle blocker Kaewkalaya Kamulthala. Also strengthening the team is the 193cm-tall Natasa Cikiriz from Serbia.
However, following a setback from one loss to Altay on the opening day, Diamond Food will compete on Saturday with their backs against the wall. A possible loss to the Chinese side on Saturday is likely to eliminate the Thai team from the semifinals, their initial target in participation in Vinh Phuc, because Altay from Kazakhstan, though earlier losing to the Chinese outfits in straight sets, will face much easier task in their last pool play match against winless Hip Hing VC from Hong Kong, China. If Diamond Food go down and Altay win on Saturday, the Thai team will be immediately relegated to classification round for 5th-9th places.
The other Pool B clash on Friday saw Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force struggle in the third set to brush off Khuvsgul Erchim, the first team ever from Mongolia to compete in the Asian Women’s Club Championship since the tournament inception in 1999.
The impressive 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 win has earned the Thai team their second win in Vinh Phuc against one loss to Altay. However, the Friday’s win did not make Diamond Food head coach Kittikun Sri-Utthawong happy. He admitted that his team made a lot of unforced mistakes, especially in the third set, citing that to play Liaoning Donghua in their last preliminary Pool B match on Saturday, his team must come up with improved performance and try to avoid any hasty unforced mistakes.
Four matches will be contested on Saturday, the last day of the pool round-robin preliminaries. The first match at 10.30am local time sees Altay VC take on Hip Hing VC, followed by Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force against Liaoning Donghua at 1.30pm, Hisamitsu Springs against Paykan at 4.30pm and the eagerly-awaited King Whale Taipei against hosts Sport Center 1 at 7.30pm.
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