Hangzhou, China, September 24, 2023 – Japan pulled off convincing win against India to maintain their remarkable unbeaten streak and Qatar survived a scare from Pakistan in their Top 6 encounters of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Men’s Volleyball Competition to next battle it out with respective China and Iran in the Monday’s do-or-die semifinals at Linping Sports Center Gymnasium.
Formidable Japan stormed past India 3-0 to become the only team not dropping a set to their respective opponents in the continent multi-sports extravaganza. The Sunday’s exceptional win also assisted Japan to move on to the semifinals, where they will clash hosts and last year’s AVC Cup champions China on Monday. Qatar also made their mark on Sunday to overpower Pakistan 3-1 to go up against defending and consecutive two-time champions Iran in the other semifinal encounter.
In an exciting clash of Top 6 at China Textile City Sports Center Gymnasium on Sunday, Japan, current world No.5, Asian champions and bronze medallists at this year’s VNL but fielding second-string squad in the Hangzhou Asian Games, managed a 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 shutout of India.
Opposite spiker Keihan Takahashi scored a match-high 21 points from 18 kills and team-leading 3 aces for Japan, while outside hitters Masahiro Yanagida and Kenta Takanashi added another 14 and 10 points respectively. Although India put on a gallant fightback, the Japanese blunted the opponents’ determined challenge with their spectacular attacks, splendid combinations and impeccable defence, limiting the India’s offense to the point that no Indian player got to reach double digits in scoring against them. Outside hitter Erin Varghese scored 8 points in the India’s bitter loss.
The Japan’s dominance in this comfortable affair was also visible in the match stats as the winners dominated in attacks (47 to 25) and aces (6 to 4), besides benefitting from more opponent errors (19 to 17). India got the most blocks, prevailing in that category by 5 to 3.
In the other Top 6 clash on Sunday, Qatar, current world No.17 and silver medallists at the 2023 FIVB Challenger Cup on home soil, struggled to beat well-established Pakistan, under the guidance of Brazilian coach Issanaye Ramires Ferraz, in a closely-contested four-setter 26-24, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18.
Outside hitters Raimi Wadidie and Youssef Oughlaf joined forces in handing Qatar 16 points apiece on the team’s dramatic victory, while Murad Khan was the most productive player of Pakistan with a match-high 28 points from 25 attacks, 2 blocks and one ace.
Following their wins in the Sunday’s Top 6 encounters, Japan and Qatar reached the semifinals of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 22 Men’s Volleyball Competition to next fight it out with China and Iran respectively. The two losers India and Pakistan will vie for a better position in their 5th-6th playoff match on Tuesday, the last day of the men’s competition in Hangzhou.
Meanwhile, the Top 12 matches at Linping Sports Center Gymnasium on Sunday saw Korea and Kazakhstan seal their victories, with the former demolishing Bahrain 3-1 and the latter struggling hard to beat Chinese Taipei in epic tie-breaker.
Korea fielded a formidable lineup in Hangzhou including four players who joined the team picking up silver at the previous 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia led by Na Gyeongbok and Jeon Kwangin and were also strong with the likes of powerful hitter Heo Subong and Im Donghyeok, whose intensity and threat on offense made them two of the most difficult to defend against in the frontline.
Korea took the first two sets without much trouble 25-19, 25-21, but succumbed to the 19-25 loss in the third set when Bahrain gained the upper hand to lead commandingly with an 8-point clear at 20-12. Korea clawed their way back to reduce the margin, but their attempts did not pay off due to the rivals’ unstoppable force steered by Khamis Ali Ebrahim Habib Yusuf and Anan Naser Saleh Hasan Mansoor. Bahrain surged away to take the third set 25-19.
The fourth set was the most thrilling as both sides played neck and neck to win the set. Leveling at 23-23, the Koreans, with Heo Subong on fire, remained in aggressive form on the homestretch to win two points in a row to completely end the Bahraini challenge in the set 25-23 and match.
Opposite spiker Im Donghyeok chipped in with 12 points including 11 kills from 20 attempts for Korea. Na Gyeongbok and Jeon Kwangin kept good company to add 10 points apiece, with Heo Subong and Jeong Hanyong contributing 9 points each. Anan Naser Saleh Hasan Mansoor tallied 19 points, with 17 kills and two blocks for Bahrain, with Khamis Ali Ebrahim Habib Yusuf adding 18 points.
Korea advanced to take on Thailand in the Classification Round 7-10 at China Textile City Sports Center Gymnasium on Monday, while Bahrain will be pitted against Chinese Taipei in the 11th-12th playoff match on the same day at the same venue.
Chinese Taipei, bronze medallists at the previous 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, had crunch time against in-form Kazakhstan to go down in hard-fought five-set thriller 24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 17-19 in their Classification Round 7-12 clash on Sunday.
Opposite spiker Maxim Michshenko guided Kazakhstan to the dramatic 3-2 win, scoring a match-high 25 points from 22 attacks, two blocks and one ace, while veteran Vitaliy Vorivodin and Boris Kempa added 15 points apiece for the win. Opposite spiker Chang Yu-Sheng and outside hitter Chen Chien-Chen contributed 23 and 22 points respectively in the Chinese Taipei’s stunning loss.
“I think Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei played in the same level, but my opposite players did not play well in this tough match. We lost small points in the set which we lost and you can see that each set was close. I would like to congratulate Kazakhstan on their victory. We will next prepare for our last match tomorrow against the losers in the match between Korea and Bahrain. After the Asian Games, we continue our training in long preparation for the next major tournaments including the Asian Senior Men’s Championship,” commented Chinese Taipei head coach Moro Branislav from Serbia.
On Monday, the penultimate day of the men’s volleyball competition in the 19th Asian Games, Chinese Taipei take on Bahrain at Linping Sports Center Gymnasium to fight for the 11th position in Hangzhou, with Qatar challenging Iran and Japan facing off against China in the semifinals.
The two matches for Classification Round 7-10 at China Textile City Sports Center Gymnasium see Kazakhstan meet Indonesia and Korea play Thailand.
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