Jiangmen, China, July 6, 2024 – China demolished Thailand in straight sets and Japan powered past Korea in dramatic four-setter, but four of them advanced to Monday’s semifinals of the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium.
Contesting the round of last 8 on Saturday, China, current world champions and silver medallists at the previous edition in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan two years ago, struggled hard in the first set to beat Thailand 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-20) and Vietnam bounced back to beat Kazakhstan with comeback 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-15) win in Pool E.
In Pool F, defending champions Japan conceded one set to beat Korea 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20), while Chinese Taipei proved too strong for India to outplay the unfancied rivals 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-13).
At the conclusion of the playoff Pool E and Pool F matches in the last 8 stage on Saturday, China remained unbeaten to become the only team in the nine-day championship which have yet lost a set to their respective rivals. China topped Pool E with 6 points from two straight wins, followed by Thailand with 3 points from one win against one loss. Vietnam came in third place with 3 points from one win against one loss, while Kazakhstan finished fourth place with no point earned from two losses in a row.
Japan also continued their unbeaten streak with 6 points from two wins in succession to capture the top spot in Pool F, while Korea finished second with 3 points from one win against one loss. Chinese Taipei and winless India came in third with 3 points and fourth places with no point claimed respectively.
With only top two teams from each pool through, China, Thailand from Pool E and Japan, Korea from Pool F qualified for the Monday’s semifinals. The remaining four lower-ranked sides (teams finishing third and fourth places in Pool E and Pool F) – Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei and India were relegated to classification round for 5th-8th places.
Contesting the last day of the last 8 teams on Saturday, China brought their best players to the court at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium, managing a 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-20) shutout of Thailand and emerged triumphant in their Pool E encounter.
China, current world champions and silver medallists at the previous edition in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan two years ago, were strong offensively with the likes of Shan Lingqian and skipper Wang Yindi, both of whom joined the gold medal-winning…
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