Day 4 Wrap-Up
Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, April 28, 2023 – King Whale Taipei powered past Paykan for two wins in a row in Pool A to secure a semifinal berth in the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium on Friday, as Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force and Liaoning Donghua VC faced little problems in respectively outplaying Khuvsgul Erchim and Hip Hing VC in Pool B.
King Whale Taipei still proved to be one of the strongest teams to be reckoned with in the eight-day topflight club championship in Vinh Phuc here. Their exceptional 25-14, 25-10, 19-25, 25-18 victory against Iran’s Women’s Premier League 2022/23 champions Paykan has guaranteed in advance the Chinese Taipei outfits a place in the Top Four because Pool A featured only four teams, with each team playing only three matches.
As a result, with only top two teams through to the semifinals, King Whale Taipei as well as hosts Vietnam’s Sport Center 1, both teams with two straight wins, have made the cut for the Top Four. The highly-anticipated match between them on Saturday will determine the Pool A winners.
With the aforementioned two teams in the Top Four, the remaining two in Pool A – Hisamitsu Springs, champions at the Japan’s 2021/22 V. League Division 1 and the 2002 and 2014 Asian Club winners, and Paykan – have been relegated to classification round of the championship to fight for 5th-9th places. The last preliminary match among them on Saturday will automatically decide the 3rd and 4th places in Pool A.
In Pool B, China’s Liaoning Donghua overcame a strong challenge from fast-improving Hip Hing VC in the first set to storm past the smaller-built but determined opponents from Hong Kong, China in straight sets 25-20, 25-8, 25-14 to continue their remarkable unbeaten run without dropping a set to their respective rivals in the championship.
The convincing win on Friday has made Liaoning Donghua, which clinched the Chinese Volleyball Super League in the 2005/06 season, but finished 7th at the current 2022/23 season, the invincible giants in Pool B. However, a daunting task awaits them on Saturday when they will go up against Diamond Food, the last year’s bronze medallists in Kazakhstan and the former consecutive two-time Thailand League champions Diamond Food in their last preliminary match.
The Thai outfits fielded a formidable roster in this championship including highly-experienced setter Nootsara Tomkom and four Thailand national team…
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