Daily Review (July 10)
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, July 10, 2022 – Reigning champions Japan and twelve-time titlists China will contend the title at the 21st Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship after winning against their respective semi-final match-ups on Sunday at the Kazakh capital’s NU Sports Centre.
Japan took the first of two finals berths as they powered through a 3-0 win (25-18, 25-19, 25-11) against Korea.
Tsugumi Fukazawa (15 points), Anna Uemura (13 points), and Arina Tsutsumi (11 points) contributed double-digits, comprising Japan’s solid game plan as they scored from the flanks as well as the back row.
The titleholders also performed well from the service line scoring off a total of 8 service winners, as a powerful punctuation and annex to their well-composed plays.
China captured the second finals slot after defeating Thailand 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-15).
The winningest team in the competition’s history (12 titles) started their semi-final sluggishly, unable to relax and deliver their game plan with the usual fluidity and stability.
Coach Kuang Qi called in some key substitutions, which helped restart the team’s performance and momentum.
China captain Wang Yifan completed the victory with 17 points, with Zhuang Yushan adding another 10 points.
Opposite hitter Zhuang Xinru, who was one of China’s key substitutes in Sunday’s match shared her outlook ahead of the finale.
“We will just try to enjoy the match tomorrow, play more relaxed and just try to take it point by point,” said Zhuang Xinru.
As the top two teams of the competition, Japan and China now qualify for the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship to be held in 2023.
In Sunday’s opening match, Iran outlasted India in four sets, 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-15, 27-25), to aim for their best finish in the competition’s history.
Iran’s best performance as accounted for in the Asian Women’s U19 Championship, was an 8th place finish, as achieved in 2012 in Nakhom Pathom, Thailand and in 2018 ( Bac Ninh, Vietnam).
The match-up on Sunday revealed Asia’s promising volleyball stars, with Iran’s opposite hitter Mahsa Ghaderi Ardekani and India’s outside hitter Gopika Gunasekaran charting 20 points each.
In a later match, Chinese Taipei won in straight sets 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-22) against host team Kazakhstan.
Sunday’s victory places Chinese Taipei in contention for fifth place against Iran.
Hu Chen-Ying (18 points), Hung Shih-Han (17 points), and Pan Hsuan-Jung (10 points) performed consistently as each contributed in double-digits.
MATCH RESULTS
MATCH SCHEDULE
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