HANGZHOU, July 8 (Xinhua) — In a last crammed with errors, Japan triumphed over China 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 25-19) right here on Saturday, securing the gold medal on the inaugural Asian Girl’s U16 Volleyball Championship.
The Chinese crew, taking part in on house turf and having not dropped a set earlier than the gold medal match, could not include their tears after the defeat.
The championship face-off, which lasted one and a half hours, noticed Japan and China make 29 and 34 errors, respectively. Despite a standout efficiency from China’s captain Yang Shuming, Japan showcased extra complete and versatile techniques.
Yuzuki Baba, Japan’s reverse spiker, led all scorers with 22 factors. Her teammates, outdoors hitter Rion Chuganji and center blocker Aina Mizokami, added 12 and 10 factors, respectively. Yang was the one Chinese participant to hit double digits, attaining 20 factors from her 44 makes an attempt.
Japan led 3-0 into the match and at one level widened the hole to 6 factors. A sequence of serving and receiving errors hindered China from breaking via Japan’s protection, ensuing within the first set loss.
China started the second set with nice momentum for a 3-0 lead. However, Japan rapidly caught up. After a 21-all tie, China fell quick once more and scored just one extra level to give up the set.
After lagging behind two units to nil, China rallied within the third, utilized fast assaults and powerful blocks to broaden the margin regardless of serving errors from either side. Decisive assaults from Yang and reverse spiker Sun Hongyun, who contributed 9 factors, paced China to clinch the third set.
The fourth set started with either side exchanging the leads. As China faltered in each serve receiving and protection, Japan progressively constructed a five-point lead and secured the gold medal.
In one other match, Chinese Taipei beat Thailand for the bronze medal.
Japan, China, and Chinese Taipei, the highest three finishers of the match, have earned their locations within the 2024 FIVB Girl’s U17 World Championship.