China Beats Thailand at Asian Women's Volleyball ����World and Olympic runners-up China met strong resistance from their Thai peers, fighting back from one set down to win at 3-1 on September 25 in the finals round at the 10th Asian Women's Volleyball Championship. ����Low-rated Thailand, finished fourth in the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998, never lost their fighting spirit, leading all the way in the first set and winning the set at 25-19. ����The Thais continued to press powerhouse China, leading 16-15 in the second set. But later they found they still had a lot to improve. ����Local crowd favorites China then dominated the match throughout with their tight blocking, powerful smashing and effective team combination, winning the following three sets at 25-20, 25-19 and 25-12. ����"Thailand has nothing to lose, they performed very well today. But our defense is not so good that let Thais take the first set, " said Chinese head coach Hu Jin. ����Though Japan had a good teamwork, sound defense and fighting character, South Korea, who lost to China 3-2 on Wednesday, resorted to varied tactics with a string of changes and delicate spikes, keeping their dominance on the court as they encouraged themselves not to surrender a single point without exerting every effort. ����South Korea outclassed Japan with a score of 25-16, 25-23 and 25-22. ����"We still have chance to win the title but it depends on the match between China and Japan," said South Korean head coach Kim Cheol Yong. ����He added that he was confident of Japanese team because Japan had played well against China in the World Grand Prix in August. ����"We do have chance to beat China, but it's distant and indistinct," said Japanese head coach Kuzuwa Nobuchika. ����China, which beat Japan eight times in a row this year, will take on the East Asian opponent on Sunday while South Korea meets Thailand. (Xinhua) SportsNews 1999-09-26 Page3 Full Story in Chinese