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China, S. Korea keep Olympic Hopes
Atlanta Olympic silver medalists China and South Korea kept alive their hopes for a berth in the Sydney Olympics at the women's volleyball final qualifying round Thursday.
The Chinese women, who suffered early setbacks by losing to Italy and the Netherlands, edged past Croatia 23-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-19, 15-10 for their third win against two defeats in the eight-nation round robin. "It was a very difficult match, because Barbara Jelic and Natasa Leto from Croatia attacked very well. We lost the first set, but we managed to recover from the setback," said China's head coach Hu Jin.
Asian silver medalists South Korea, whose only defeat was dealt by Italy, breezed past the Netherlands 25-19, 25-22, 16-25, 25-20 for a 4-1 win-loss record.
The country that finishes top will take the first ticket to Sydney. The top Asian country will qualify, and the best two teams among the remaining six countries will get the last two places for the Olympics.
Italy, South Korea, China, Japan and Croatia kept themselves in the running, while the Netherlands stood with one win against four defeats to see their hopes for the Olympics almost fizzle out.
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