Cuba and Russia booked their berths in the women's volleyball competition of next year's Olympic Games in Sydney after scoring their victories in World Cup on Sunday.

Olympic champions Cuba defeated host Japan 25-23, 25-14, 25-17 while European champion and World Grand Prix winner Russia beat China 25-23, 15-25, 25-13, 25-17.

Cuban coach Antonio Perdomo said: "Since the World Cup started, we are getting better and better. Our team is a different team and we are in top form right now."

Russian coach Niolai Karpol said after their win over China: " The Russian team was aiming for a ticket to the Sydney Olympics and now we have got it. Winning the trophy is our next priority.

"Our team was very nervous in the first set, but it was a good game. The They were not able to concentrate and lost the second set. But after that, our players were able to show their technique was good enough to win."

Both Cuba and Russia kept their winning records intact in the nine games played so far, while Brazil, after beating Italy 3-0 here, is now third with eight wins and one loss.

China and Japan are at 6-3 but only China, with a far better set ratio, has a chance to finish in the top three and qualify for Sydney.

In other matches in Osaka, the United States edged Peru 22-25, 25-22, 29-27, 17-25, 15-12, Argentina defeated Tunisia 25-9, 25-23, 25-11 while South Korea defeated Croatia 25-20, 25-20, 25-22.