Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, June 20, 2024 – Reigning champions Japan survived a huge scare for nail-biting victory against Korea, as China and Chinese Taipei flexed their muscles with convincing straight-set wins to continue their unbeaten streak by not dropping a set to their respective opponents in Round of 8 of the 15th Asian Women’s U18 Volleyball Championship at Nakhon Pathom Gymnasium on Thursday.
The Round of 8 encounters on Thursday saw Thailand pull off dramatic 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 21-25, 25-17) victory over Kazakhstan and mighty China outplay Uzbekistan 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-11) in Pool E, while embattled Japan overcame daunting challenge from Korea to beat the determined rivals in hard-fought five-se thriller 25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-27, 15-10 and Chinese Taipei powered past Iran 3-1 (25-19, 25-13, 25-18) in Pool F.
As the Round of 8 will come to a conclusion on Friday, only top two teams from Pool E and Pool F will secure their berths in the much-anticipated semifinals which will guarantee four of them the slots to show their wares at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Championship.
In the Classification Round for 9th-13th places on Thursday, Hong Kong, China demolished Macao, China in a one-sided battle 25-16, 25-9, 25-14 and Philippines downed India in well-fought four-setter 26-24, 15-25, 25-19, 25-22.
Against the formidable Koreans on Thursday, Japan, one of the world’s great teams with the best defence, mixed the exceptional offensive mobility from powerful attacks of two outside hitters, Rion Chuganji and Yuzuki Baba, with solid blocks by middle blocker Ichino Nakagawa for their comfortable wins in the first two sets 25-18, 25-19.
Despite a dismal start to concede two sets in a row, Korea, bronze medallists at the previous edition at the same competition site here two years ago, successfully broke the deadlock which had turned them from a team struggling to live up to the expectations to another strong team to be reckoned with in this topflight championship. With hard-hitting Park Yeoreum and Park Yunseo on fire with aggressive attacks and Kim Jiyoon producing solid blocks, Korea bounced back to take the third set 25-22.
The set win had boosted their confidence and Korea remained in good form defensively and offensively in the fourth set which turned out to be a hotly-contested battle. Leveling at 25-25, Korea played more steadier to seal the hard-fought set 27-25, forcing the tiebreaker to decide the eventual winners.
Japan really turned the tide in the decisive set to lead from start to finish, thanks to the splendid defensive system orchestrated by Chuganji and Baba. Japan captured the set 15-10 and match.
Outside hitter Rion Chuganji played a key role for the Japan’s victory in this match as she scored a match-high 29 points from 26 kills from 57 attempts and 2 blocks and one ace, while Yuzuki Baba and Minori Izutani chipped in 19 and 15 points respectively. Kim Jiyoon and Park Yeoreum handed Korea 19 points apiece on the Korea’s loss.
In the second clash, Chinese Taipei, disappointed after a fifth-place finish at the previous edition, remained unchallenged this time and continued their quest to secure their berth in the next year’s Girls’ U19 World Championship.
After comfortably taking the first two sets 25-19, 25-13 in their crucial match against hefty Iran, whose height average is 180cm, the smaller-built Chinese Taipei relied mostly on their impeccable defence and back-to-back attacks from outside hitter Chen Pin-Yu. Iran responded with some fine shots from Masoumeh Ghadamitabaghdehi and Ayda Valinezhad, but their good show did not last long as Chinese Taipei went on attacks to seal the set win 25-18 and match.
Chen Pin-Yu delivered 14 points from 13 kills and one block for Chinese Taipei, while Masoumeh Ghadamitabaghdehi led Iran with 11 points, all attacks.
The other encounter became a one-sided affair when formidable China managed a straight-set shutout of Uzbekistan 25-11, 25-12, 25-11.
China proved their superiority over Uzbekistan as the former utilized powerful Zhai Yurui, 182cm, to navigate past the Uzbek blocks, while fast spikes from Wang Aoqian also worked out effectively to help the Chinese clearly dominant in every set contested.
Outside hitter Zhai Yurui was a big name in the China’s victory with a match-high 23 points from 15 kills and incredible 8 aces. China also limited the rivals’ offense to the point that no Uzbekistan player got to reach double digits in scoring against them. Maftuna Rokhimova led Uzbekistan with 7 points.
The China’s dominance could be seen in the match stats as the winners dominated in kills (42 to 15) and blocks (3 to 1) and aces (16 to 3), but Uzbekistan benefitted from more opponent errors (15 to 14).
The last match of the day saw Thailand, which landed the 22 “Princess Cup” Women’s U18 Southeast Asian Championship at the same venue here, remain strong offensively with the likes of the 185cm-tall Supawadee Panwilai, Atitaya Kaewnok and Sasikan Kanoiu to help the host side take the first two sets 25-15, 25-18 in their tough contest against Kazakhstan.
Outside hitter Violetta Volga unleashed many good shots to give Kazakhstan a strong comeback in the third set. Thailand hit back, but their attempts were in vain as the visitors cruised on to take the thrilling set 25-21.
Winning one set, Kazakhstan played confidently in the fourth set, but they found the going get tough as Thailand put their acts together, with Supawadee and Sasikan steering their side. The host side clinched the victory in the set 25-17.
Supawadee Panwilai tallied 23 points from 21 kills, one ace and one block for Thailand, while Atitaya Kewnok and Sasikan Kanoiu added 21 and 15 points respectively. Violetta Volga contributed 13 points on the Kazakhstan’s loss.
Meanwhile, at the Ratchaburi Gymnasium, the 9th-13th playoffs saw Hong Kong, China fare much better than Macao, China to brush off the inexperienced opponents in easy straight sets 25-16, 25-9, 25-14.
Tang Sum Yuen delivered 12 points including 10 kills from 22 attempts for Hong Kong, China, while Zang Yun Fei led Macao, China with 11 points from 9 kills and two aces.
Philippines, bronze medallist at the recent Princess Cup, and India, played a close match but the former had the better teamwork and form with more individual talents in the team led by Denesse Daylisan.
Philippines took the hotly-contested first set 26-24, but succumbed to 15-25 defeat in the second set. Daylisan, Avril Denise Bron and Jaila Adrao led the team’s scoring efforts with their aggressive attacks and efficient blocks for the remaining two sets 25-19, 25-22 and the dramatic victory.
On Friday, the Round of 8 playoffs see Iran go up against Korea, Chinese Taipei challenge Japan, Uzbekistan face Kazakhstan and Thailand meet China.
In the 9th-13th playoff encounters, Hong Kong, China play Australia and Macao, China take on India.
RESULTS AND POOL RANKING
POOL E 1-4
POOL F 1-4
POOL 9-13
MATCH SCHEDULE
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