Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, July 11, 2022 – Japan defeated China in straight sets, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-22) to succeed in their title defence at the 21st Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship.
Monday evening’s victory at the Kazakh capital’s NU Sports Centre gave Japan their 7th title, carrying over from the Asian Women’s U19 competition history.
Anna Uemura delivered in key moments of the championship, playing equally well on attack and passing, scoring 13 points to help spark Japan’s victory.
“This is my first time in this kind of championship. At first I was not playing at my best level. But little by little, I started to more comfortable with the help of my team,” said Uemura, who also made it to the Championship’s Dream Team as Most Valuable Player.
Head coach Akinori Yamada beamed with pride for his champion of a team.
“I truly appreciate the effort of the players, the coaches, the staff, and all the members who worked together and stayed together. I am really proud and honored to be part of this team,” said Yamada.
As the top two teams of the competition, Champions Japan and runners-up China will proceed to the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship in 2023.
Earlier on Monday, Thailand survived a five-set thriller,3-2 (25-23, 12-25, 26-24, 20-25, 16-14) against an unyielding Korea, to take the bronze in the 21st edition of the Championship.
Ampha Sonsurat (24 points) and captain Donphon Sinpho (20 points) led the team to their third consecutive podium finish, following their bronze medals in 2016 (Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand) and in 2018 (Bac Ninh, Vietnam).
Chinese Taipei finished fifth after their 3-1 defeat (25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 25-11) of hosts Kazakhstan
Hu Chen-Ying (20 points) and captain Peng Yu-Rou (15 points) contributed massively in the victory. They stepped up and stood out with their consistent performance to compensate for Chinese Taipei’s downsized roster of just 8 players.
India took 7th place in. the competition after a thrilling five-set win, 3-2 ( 16-25, 25-11, 29-27, 16-25, 16-14) against hosts Kazakhstan.
Gopika Gunasekaran, the 17-year-old hitter from Tamilnadu, gave a stellar, storied performance in the match, making her own share of miscues, but providing solidly with much-needed heroics in the decider. She delivered in passing and attacking in the closing plays to give a 34-point performance, helping India with the victory on Monday morning.
MATCH RESULTS
DREAM TEAM (INDIVIDUAL...
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