Jiangmen, China, July 9, 2024 – After eight-year hiatus, powerhouses China stunned reigning and consecutive two-time champions Japan in epic tie-breaker to underline their supremacy over the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium here on Tuesday.
The hard-fought 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 14-25, 15-10) victory handed China the 13th title in this championship. Since its inception in 1980 in Seoul, where hosts Korea captured the very first title, China took the lion’s share of 13 titles (1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2024). The Chinese have already faced off against Japan in 13 finals in this Asian Women’s U20 Championship and among their confrontation in the finals, the Chinese clinched eight titles and Japan took the remaining five.
The China’s win was a sweet revenge for their loss two times in succession to Japan in the previous two editions consisting of in 2018 in Bac Ninh, Vietnam, where they lost to Japan in straight sets in the final clash and again in 2022 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, where they went down in another straight sets to Japan in the showdown (The 2020 edition was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic).
Outside hitter Dong Yuhan was the most productive player for China to chip in 20 points from 13 kills, 3 blocks and 4 aces, while fellow outside hitter Li Chenxuan and opposite and skipper Wang Yindi added 16 and 12 points respectively. Outside hitter Miku Akimoto scored a match-high 26 points from 25 kills and one ace on the Japan’s loss. Another two outside hitters Anna Uemura and Sae Omuri contributed 15 and 12 points respectively.
Against title-holder Japan, China, current U21 world champions and silver medallists at the previous edition two years ago in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, fielded a formidable lineup which powered past Korea 3-1 in the semifinals on Monday including Wang Yindi and the 194cm Shan Linqian, both of them competed in the China U21 squad which captured the world title last year. Japan were spearheaded by sensation Miku Akimoto and the small, but powerful Anna Uemura, 168cm, who landed the Best Outside Hitter and MVP awards in Nur-Sultan.
In the opening set, China made a solid start to take an initial 4-1 lead, but Uemura gave Japan a strong comeback with her exceptional attacks and terrific jump serves which led the team to a 6-6 tie. Outside hitter Miku Akimoto, Sae Omori and Uemura provided most of the…
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