CHANG SPEARHEADS CHINESE TAIPEI’S COMFORTABLE 3-0 WIN OVER KIWIS

Manama, Bahrain, July 24, 2018 – Chinese Taipei managed to live up to their expectation after a scintillating 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-15) demolition of New Zealand in the 19th Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Isa Sport City Hall on Tuesday.

Chang Yu-Sheng leads Chinese Taipei with 16 points in scoring, while New Zealand’s Will Watson made 9 markers on a losing effort. Chinese Taipei capitalized on their strong spikes, unleashing 37 points overall.

Chinese Taipei dominated the first two sets, not letting the rivals perform their own tactics. Still, New Zealand came back with more confidence to level the score at 10-10, but soon after, they lost their rhythm and became more with hasty unforced mistakes for the 15-25 loss in the set.

Following the convincing win over the Kiwis, Chinese Taipei remain unbeaten in the top-tier competition. They made a clean sweep in Pool E with 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia and 3-1 win against Pakistan.

Despite the disappointing loss, New Zealanders performed a traditional Maori Haka, a war dance or challenge in Maori culture reflecting a posture dance with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. The dance is believed to be performed by Maori warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the oppositions.

“The team get together recently and we did not have time to prepare ourselves. Many of these players came from the youth squad, but none of them gained experience with the seniors,” New Zealand coach Samia Alani said.

“I think the pre-race favourite in this tournament are Iran because they are very strong and played exceptionally well,”, New Zealand captain Ashton Howard added.

“We rested yesterday and we could perform much better today. We are willing to move up to the top, so the next match against Japan is very important for us,” Chinese Taipei coach Chung-Kuei Yeh commented.

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