Hangzhou, China, September 21, 2023 – Six unbeaten teams China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Qatar and Japan lead top 12 contenders in action-packed Round of Last 12 in the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Men’s Volleyball Competition on Friday, striving for Top 6 berths in this continental multi-sports extravaganza.
At Linping Sports Center Gymnasium on Thursday, Korea bounced back from their upset 2-3 loss to well-established India in their previous Pool C match with an exceptional straight-set 25-23, 25-13, 25-15 win against Cambodia, silver medallists at this year’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on home soil.
Outside hitter Jung Jiseok chipped in with 11 points including 8 attacks and 2 blocks for Korea, while middle blocker Kim Minjae and opposite spiker Im Donghyeok added another 10 and 9 points respectively. The Koreans also limited the Cambodian offense to the point that no rivals’ player got to reach double digits in scoring against them. Outside hitter Kuon Mom tallied 8 points in 6 attacks and 2 blocks for the Cambodians.
The Koreans’ dominance was also visible in the match stats as the winners dominated in kills (43 to 27), blocks (7 to 5) and aces (7 to 1), but both teams benefitted the similar 18 points from opponent errors.
As unbeaten India had already surged away with the top spot in Pool C, Korea had to be content with second place in the pool with one win against one loss. Both teams qualified for the round of last 12, while winless Cambodia came in third place and suffered early Asian Games exit.
In the second match at this venue, Chinese Taipei made their dreams of advancing to round of last 12 come true following their hard-fought 25-22, 25-20, 25-21 win against spirited Mongolia.
With unbeaten Pakistan earlier through to the next round as top spot in Pool D, Chinese Taipei followed in the Pakistan’s footsteps of success by qualifying for that round as second place in this pool. Mongolia lost both matches to come in third position and crashed out of the competition.
Opposite spiker Chang Yu-Sheng led the Chinese Taipei’s offense with 15 points from 13 attacks and 2 aces, while left-hander Wu Tsung-Hsuan added another 14 points including 12 kills from 20 attempts. Opposite spiker Battur Batsuuri scored 14 points on the Mongolia’s losing effort.
At China Textile City Sports Center Gymnasium in Keqiao, world No.11 and reigning consecutive two-time Asian Games winners Iran made it two on the trot in Pool B. The Iranians,…
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