2nd Asian Women’s Volleyball Cup Taicang, China: hosts celebrate success by defeating Iran
The 2nd edition of Asian Women’s Volleyball Cup hit China’s city Taicang on 19th September, 2010. The tournament opened with the preliminary robin round, with the final standings due on 25th September, 2010. The women’s volleyball
teams from Kazakhstan, Korea, China, Iran, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan are included in the squad. The event covered the initial stage with extra-ordinary performances. This campaign has surely been successful so far, as it provided an opportunity
for Asian teams to contest their skills against each other.
The host country China entered the tournament with a confident team. The Chinese team recently acquired the services of a new head-coach Yu Juemin. China is the defending champion, and they are self-assured to seize the title in their custody for another
year. The outstanding Chinese team defeated Korea in the final of Asian Women’s Cup last year. This time around, the team has undergone tough practice and training for the on-going home-series.
China vs. Iran
In the first match of the Asian Women’s Cup, World No. 3 China clashed with neighbour country Iran, which was ranked 16th in the world. The host team China took full advantage of the home court and emotional support of fans. The huge fan-following
of China gathered to watch the action live. The home-team displayed an impressive play in front of local crowd and delivered a match-winning performance. Iran was dismissed in three straight sets while China’s team celebrated victory. They posted 3-0 (25-16,
15-13, and 25-13) win over Iran.
Opening Set
The Chinese team had better player-line and it was believed that they will easily conquer the first battle. They opened the first set with an average pace and kept eyeing the ball movement. The game gradually picked up pace and title-hotshots China’s team
produced powerful line shots. The hard-spiking of Chen Liyi and Fan Linlin wrecked the Iranian defence line. China easily built the lead and proved to be too strong for the struggling Iranian team.
Iran had many loopholes in their team set up and they got into real trouble due to lack of communication among players. Their passing was not good and a few camp-fires also caused damage for Iran. Moreover, China dismissed their attack attempts and returned
the ball back in their court. Chinese kept an upper-hand on the visiting team and claimed the first set win by polling 25-16.
Second Set
After dropping the first set, Iranian side brought in new substitutions in second set. They tried to gain stability in game but China’s solid spiking and clever blocks frustrated Iranian team. China already had a competitive edge in the match by capturing
first set; they continued putting more pressure on Iran’s team. The cheering slogans of fans further put new soul in Chinese players. The arena was echoed with the uproar of fans, with every point scored. Iran’s team relied on the defence expert who had a
tough job to penetrate fire-balls from China. Both teams put effort but luck favoured China. The second set resulted in further regret for Iranian team, as they could only achieve 13 points. China was too quick to snatch second-set victory (25-13).
Final Set
The first two sets clearly portrayed China as winners; still Iran was given another Chance to create a little buzz in the game. Nonetheless, Iran’s hope died when China started hard-hitting in third set. They attained the unassailable position in the game
and heavily influenced Iran’s Team. China repeated the same act and won third set with a score of 25-13.
China started their campaign with a victory over Iran. They have bright prospects to prove their authority over other teams in the coming matches and win the Asian Women’s Volleyball Cup 2010.
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