Hangzhou, China, October 4, 2023 – China, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan remained intact after dismissing their respective opponents to secure semifinal berths ahead of their last Top 8 matchups on Thursday in the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Women’s Volleyball Competition.
Following the conclusion of pool round-robin preliminaries on Monday, teams had been split into two groups with the first group finishing Top 2 from each pool to contest the Elite 8 round in Pool E (A1, A2, C1, C2) and Pool F (B1, B2, D1, D2). The second group featured lower-ranked teams finishing 3rd and 4th places from each pool to next compete in the Classification Round for ranking 9-13 in Pool G (A3, C3) and H (B3, D3, D4).
On Wednesday, at Hangzhou Normal University Cangqian Gymnasium, India routed Nepal 3-1 in Pool G, while Vietnam powered past DPR Korea 3-1 and China faced no issue in shutting out Korea 3-0 in Pool E. At Deqing Sports Center Gymnasium, Hong Kong, China beat Mongolia 3-1 in Pool H, while Thailand demolished Kazakhstan 3-0 and Japan downed Chinese Taipei 3-1 in Pool F.
China and Vietnam have yet lost a match and are due to challenge each other in their last Top 8 encounter in Pool E. As a result, both sides are assured of making the semifinals, with the Thursday’s clash among them to determine the Pool E winners. By the same token, Thailand and Japan remained unbeaten in Pool F and with the last Top 8 match among them to decide the Pool F winners on Thursday, both teams are also guaranteed to seal semifinal spots.
China, current world No.6, defending champions and silver medallists at the 2023 VNL, underlined their billing as hot favorites for the Asian Games title. On Wednesday, the host side fielded the same roster as the recent Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournament including left-hander Li Yingying, tall and towering Yuan Xinyue, 202cm, and veteran setter Ding Xia to crush Korea in lopsided battle 25-12, 25-21, 25-16.
China took total control in the first set to lead by wide margin 24-12 and middle blocker Wang Yuanyuan hammered an overpass killer in the last point to hand the host team the set win 25-12.
Conceding one set, Korea tried hard for a comeback. Their true intention came within a whisker of winning the second set when they led all the way till the Chinese side, boosted by cheering home fans packing the gymnasium, leveled it at 20-20 and wen on their fine form to surge ahead 23-21. Sub-in Wu Menjie, who landed Best Outside Spiker award at the recent Asian Senior Women’s Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, overcame the smaller blocker with her attack to deliver the set point for China at 24-21 and the hefty Yuan Xinyue tore the Korean defence apart with her exceptional attack for the set win 25-21.
With Wu Menjie, Yuan Xinyue and Li Yingying on fire in attack, China gained the upper hand initially in the third set to lead 16-13 and moments later, scored four points in a row to extend it to 20-13. The Koreans regrouped and counter-attacked well, but the Chinese held them off with their resilience and combination attacks to win the set 25-16 and match.
Middle blocker Yuan Xinyue was the most productive player of China to score 12 points including 11 kills, while opposite Gong Xiangyu, middle blocker Wang Yuanyuan and outside hitter Li Yingying kept good company to add 11 points piece for the team’s convincing win. Outside hitter Kang Sohwi led Korea with 9 points.
Earlier, world No. 39 Vietnam, which captured the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup title to their name, struggled hard, but eventually put it past the fighting DPR Korea in hard-fought four-setter 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22 in their Top 8 Pool E clash.
Vietnam, strong offensively with the likes of Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, Tran Thi Bich Thuy and Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh, were incredibly dominant in the first set to lead with a six-point clear at 23-17 as the North Koreans were prone to unforced errors. Two aces in succession from Thanh Thuy helped Vietnam end the opponents’ challenge in the comfortable set 25-17 and with Thanh Thuy on fire in attack, the Vietnamese continued their superb form to take the thrilling second set 25-20.
However, the North Koreans put their act together, with opposite Uh Ryongyong and fellow outside hitter Kim Hyonju emerging as big names in the team’s comeback in the hard-fought third set to seal the 25-20 victory.
The fourth set was closely-contested with both teams trading attacks and points. Leading 23-20, Vietnam stormed on to reach the match point at 24-22, thanks to outside hitter Tran Tu Linh’s aggressive attack. The Vietnamese held their advantage to capture the set 25-22 and match.
Skipper and outside hitter Tran Thi Thanh Thuy proved an unstoppable force in the Vietnam’s lineup to deliver 25 points from 21 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces. Middle blocker Tran Thi Bich Thuy and opposite Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh added another 15 and 14 points respectively. Outside hitter Kim Hyonju scored a match-high 31 points including 29 kills in the DPR Korea’s bitter loss.
Vietnam dominated in kills (66 to 60), but DPR Korea fared better in aces (5 to 3). Both teams had great balance in blocks (7 to 7), while the Vietnamese benefitted from more opponent errors (19 to 12), which was pivotal to their victory.
The other match saw India and Nepal fight for a better place in the Classification Round for ranking 9-13 in Pool G. World No. 65 India struggled, but eventually survived a scare from the Nepalese to pull off dramatic 3-1 (25-23, 26-28, 25-23, 25-17) triumph, their first win in the quadrennial sports extravaganza in Hangzhou.
Outside hitter Shaalini Savanna chipped in with 18 points from 16 attacks and 2 aces for India, while outside hitter Pratibha Mali scored 21 points, all in attack, on the Nepal’s losing effort.
Meanwhile, at Deqing Sports Center Gymnasium, Hong Kong China tasted their first win in the Hangzhou Asian Games after edging past Mongolia 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 26-24) in their Classification Round for ranking 9-13 in Pool H.
Outside hitter Chim Wing Lam steered Hong Kong, China to the victory with a massive 24 points including 21 attacks from 52 attempts and 2 blocks, while opposite To Wing Man contributed 20 points for the win. Opposite Khongorzul Gan-Ochir led Mongolia with 19 points including 17 kills from 38 attempts.
In the Top 8 encounters in Pool F, world No.13 and Asian champions Thailand rested some strong players including two outside hitters Chatchu-On Moksri and Sasipapron Janthawisut and middle blocker Hattaya Bumrungsuk throughout the match, but remained strong with the likes of two outside hitters Ajcharaporn Kongyot and Wipawee Srithong and middle blocker Thatdao Nuekjang.
Thailand took the comfortable first set 25-18 and managed to hold on to their advantage to win the second and third sets in one-way traffic 25-12, 25-11 for the eventual straight-set win.
Outside hitter Ajcharaporn Kongyot led the Thailand’s offense with 15 points from 13 attacks and 2 blocks, while fellow outside hitter Wipawee Srithong contributed 14 points for the team’s triumph. Middle blocker Kristina Anikonova led Kazakhstan with 8 points including 5 attacks from 12 attempts.
The Thailand’s dominance was visible in the match stats as the winners dominated in kills (46 to 25), blocks (9 to 6) and aces (3 to 0), besides benefiting from more opponent errors (17 to 10).
In another Pool F clash against Chinese Taipei, Japan fielded seven players from the bronze-winning team in the recent Asian Senior Women’s Championship in Thailand and five experienced players including veteran setter Koyomi Iwasaki and two outside hitters Mizuki Tanaka and Minami Uesaka.
Japan bagged the comfortable first set 25-15, but Chinese Taipei, which finished a disappointing 9th in the recent 22nd Asian meet, recovered to take the second set 25-21. The Japanese gained control to capture the next two sets 25-18, 25-21 for the eventual 3-1 win.
Japan had five players reaching double digits in scoring, with outside hitter Mizuki Tanaka leading the way with 16 points (15 kills, one ace). Fellow outside hitter Miwako Osanai scored 11, with 8 kills and 3 blocks. Middle blocker Haruyo Shimamura, outside hitter Minami Uesaka and outside hitter Yuki Nishikawa completed the list with 10 points apiece for the team’s victory. Opposite Chang Li-Wen led Chinese Taipei with 18 points including 16 kills from 47 attempts.
With Thursday the last day of the Top 8 encounters, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan remained undefeated and are assured of advancing to the highly-anticipated semifinals.
Vietnam will next challenge the Asian powerhouses China to determine the Pool E winners at Hangzhou Normal University Cangqian Gymnasium. At the same venue, DPR Korea will fight it out with Korea in another Pool E clash, while the Classification Round for lower-ranked sides contesting ranking 9-13, Mongolia are due to take on Afghanistan, but the Afghans bowed out of the competition and returned on Tuesday, resulting in cancellation of the match on Thursday.
Thailand will go up against Japan to decide the top spot in Pool F at Deqing Sports Center Gymnasium, with Kazakhstan facing off against Chinese Taipei in another Pool F encounter.
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