China overwhelms Thailand for 4th straight win at Asian Girl's U16 Volleyball

HANGZHOU, July 6 (Xinhua) -- China registered a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Thailand to reach the semifinals as group winner of Pool E at the 1st Asian Girl's U16 Volleyball Championship here on Thursday evening.

Played at Hangzhou Normal University Cangqian Gymnasium, the 25-15, 25-12, 25-10 victory was China's fourth consecutive win since the championship began on July 1, while Thailand suffered its first defeat after winning all previous three matches.

The first half of the opening set was fiercely contested, with the scores tied four times and Thailand briefly taking the lead. After a 12-all tie, China established a comfortable advantage through quick attacks and powerful spikes. Despite Thailand's persistent efforts to keep the ball in play, China scored six consecutive points en route to the first set win.

China started the second set with a better rhythm. Thanks to their excellent blocking, spiking and serving, they never gave Thailand any chance to get ahead.

After being tied at 3-all in the third, China continued to dominate the court with smooth play and quickly pulled ahead, closing the match with a powerful spike.

"We tried our best to narrow the gap and bring the daily practice into force," said Thailand's head coach Jarun Niemtubtim. "But we can't control the performance of the strong players from China. Then we lost one point and we lost all."

China's top scorer Yang Shuming (17 points) said the team "played extremely well."

Earlier in Pool E, Kazakhstan overpowered Uzbekistan 25-17, 25-22, 25-14.

In Pool F held in Deqing Sports Center Gymnasium, Iran enjoyed a straight-set win over Macao, China 25-5, 25-9, 25-10. Japan survived a thrilling five-set (25-22, 21-25, 24-26, 25-19, 15-10) battle with Chinese Taipei.

The 1st Asian Girl's U16 Volleyball Championship, a test event for the coming Hangzhou Asian Games, also serves as the qualification tournament for the FIVB Volleyball U17 World Championship in 2024.

On the penultimate match day, Thailand will face Japan while China plays against Chinese Taipei.

"We will soon play against Chinese Taipei and Japan. We watch videos for our daily preparation, and we will not take it lightly," said China's middle blocker Chen Xiaohui. "We will give our best efforts in the upcoming matches."