DAY 3 WRAPUP
Hanoi, Vietnam, July 15, 2019 – Hosts Vietnam, Thailand, China, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong China all had a field day at the 3rd Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship after brushing off their respective rivals in comfortable straight sets on Monday.
Indomitable China, fielding many substitutions including Zhong Hui, Sun Jie and Gao Yi, overwhelmed India with power and strength at the net to send the unfancied rivals packing in a completely lopsided battle in their last Pool C match at Gia Lam Gymnasium.
The exceptional 25-7 25-10 25-10 victory gave China the top spot in Pool C as India, which went down to Chinese Taipei in straight sets on Sunday, suffered two losses in a row to be relegated to the classification for 9th-13th places.
“China is one of the top teams in Asia. In terms of the ranking, we are much below. My team did not play in the previous episode in Thailand and we lack international exposure and experience. I think the experience counts a lot. I’m not that happy with my team’s performance. Our blocking is not that good when coping with the China’s attacks. We also need team coordination. It’s a pity we did not make the cut for the top eight and now, we have to fight our best for the 9th position,” said India’s head coach Sadanandan. C.S after the match.
Prolific Wiranyupa Inchan and Supawan Boonsakleart came off the bench to solidify the Thai defence as the superb duo steered Thailand to 3-0 (25-15 25-15 26-24) victory against Australia in their last Pool B match on Monday.
Supawan Cchangphuk chipped in with 12 points from 7 attacks, a team-leading 3 blocking and 2 aces for Thailand, while Sipa Borgeaud led Australia with 8 points.
Thailand, silver medallists at the previous two editions in 2015 and 2017, had already suffered their first loss to DPR Korea and Aussies also faced the similar fate. The Monday’s clash between the two teams decided the second place in Pool B to join Pool winners DPR Korea in the round of the top eight teams. With the greater experience and silver medals achieved in the last two editions to their name, Thailand had no serious issue in shutting out the taller Aussies.
“We tried to shuffle our line-up to make sure everyone can be replaced. However, in this match, I think some players in the starting lineup still need improvement as they made too many unforced mistakes, while the setter also lack self-confidence. To take on tougher rivals in the round of the top eight, it’s necessary that we have to play carefully with more confidence,” Thailand head coach Chamnan Dokmai commented.
In the third match at Gia Lam Gymnasium, Dang Thi Kim Thanh scored a game-high 14 points as hosts Vietnam tamed inexperienced, pint-sized Maldives in a totally one-sided battle 25-1 25-2 25-2 to top Pool A and advance to the top eight as expected.
Dang Thai Kim Thanh scored from 10 attacks, 1 block and 3 aces, while Tran Thi Bich Thuy made good company to add 11 points including 10 attacks. Liva Hussain and Aminath Afaaf Nizam scored one point apiece for Maldives.
“It’s an easy win for us. As far as I’m concerned, our first two matches were not that difficult, but a tough test awaits us in the next two matches as we will take on Chinese Taipei and China. Our target is not only the Asian Women’s U23 Championship, but we are preparing a brand new team in place of the senior one for the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam in 2021,” said Vietnam head coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet.
“We had an easy match against Maldives. We have never played a team with poor form like this before. But after this, we will have tough matches. I hope my team will do their best,” added Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh, a player who came off the bench to play the second and third sets.
At Tay Ho Gymnasium, Kazakhstan remain invincible after winning three matches in a row including a comfortable 25-6 25-15 25-10 win against Sri Lanka in their last Pool D match on Monday. Hong Kong China also made their mark to thrash Macau China in straight sets 25-12 25-16 25-12.
All 13 teams completed their pool plays on Monday as top two teams from each pool advanced to the top eight contesting round robin in Pool E and F.
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