15th Asian Junior Women Volleyball Championship: Japan vs. Indonesia
This is the time of the year when volleyball action hits the Asian region. The much awaited Asian Women Volleyball Champion started off on Sunday, 12th September 2010. It is the 15th edition of the tournament and this biennial event will complete its run on 20th September, 2010. The battle for supremacy is being fought among 15 teams which have been divided into four pools. The teams from Vietnam, Kazakhstan and New Zealand have been included in Pool A while Pool B comprises of top-notched women teams of Asia such as Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. Likewise, Thailand, Fiji, Chinese Taipei and India are staying under the tag of Pool C and Pool D has Iran, China, Australia and Korea in it.
The matches are scheduled to be played at two different venues in Vietnam. Phan Dinh Phung and Tan Binh Gymnasiums have been selected for the Asian Women Volleyball Championship 2010. The winner of this championship will get the ticket to next year’s FIVB World Junior Women’s Volleyball Championship, which will be held in Lima/Trujillo, Peru. The teams are fully prepared to showcase their skills and demonstrate exceptional game. Japan defeated Thailand in the final of Asian Women’s Championship in 2008. Japan aims to defend the title this year and they have spent enough time to sharpen their skills.
The tournament was opened with the preliminary round matches on Sunday. The top teams of the tournament made their mark and dominated the underdogs. The defending champion Japan played its first match against young Indonesian team. Japan played in its usual style and surprised the audience with outstanding performance. They exhibited tremendous effort and beat Indonesia in straight sets. They posted 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, and 25-13) to claim victory.
Opening Set
The first set started with flawless serves from Japanese side, which earned them early points. The spikers hit the shots with full power which cruised past Indonesian players in no time. Japan took the leading role in game and put pressure on their opponent by delivering unstoppable shots. Indonesia was not in good position to overcome the Japanese influence. The ball-reception errors and camp-fire of Indonesian players helped Japan to increase the difference of points. Japanese team was very active and they availed every opportunity for their advantage. The line shots and tricky bump passes of Japanese players totally devastated the opposite side and gradually took the game to finishing line. Indonesian game saw no improvement and they had to accept first-set defeat at 19-25.
Second Set
Indonesia seemed uncomfortable after bearing the loss of first set. They realigned their player positions and brought in the best substitutions for low performance players. The Indonesia team tried to raise their head but unfortunately, Japan proved to be a hard contender for them. The Japanese spikes perfectly landed in Indonesian half and they could do nothing to stop the damage. Japan had the same tone and their strike was stronger than the previous set. The defending champion overpowered the Indonesian team and pushed them in the back-court area. Indonesia could only score 16 points in second set and gave in. Japan took the second set by sending 25-16.
Final Set
The magnificent speed and consistency in attack enabled Japan to control the game in third set. The Indonesian strikers Fajnina Nabilia Amalia struggle hard to score points but the overall performance didn’t see much improvement. Japan continued with same energy and momentum which further extended their lead. After the second technical timeout, (TTO) Indonesia lost the hope and really slowed down. Japan scored quick points and finished the third set with 25-13. Japan celebrated victory in the first match of preliminary round. It is a good start for Japan and they have bright prospects to perform well in the next games.
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