Chinese Taipei continues with success - 16th Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship
The North Korean team gave the Chinese Taipei squad all it could handle in the second round opener of the 16th Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship on Sunday, September 18, before finally succumbing to three sets to one. The National Taiwan University Gymnasium hosted the match, where the home team saw massive fan support. DPR Korea went in with guns blazing and snagged the first set of the match, 25-22. Chinese Taipei came back with a strong offensive attack and seized the next consecutive sets, 25-19, 25-14, and 25-21.
Fuelled by the stupendous support of local fans, the hosts picked up an early lead of 8-5 in the first set. The Koreans spent a little time settling down on the court and started the counter attacks. They used their defence tactics and managed to stop the Taipei hitters. In this regards, Korean libero Kim Ok h*i put up a great effort and saved several crucial points. The host team struggled to keep the tie at 10-all, while Korea remained quick and went up at 16-12. They tried to widen the gap of points but Lin Chun Yi of Chinese Taipei controlled the action through her quick attacks and effective blocks. The home squad hit the equaliser at 21-all. Nonetheless, Kim Kyong Suk of Korea scored back-to-back points and sealed the first set with 25-22 on the scoreboard.
It was an even match in the following set as the score ticked away slowly. The Taipei players threw everything in the attack but the Koreans denied their efforts. The visitors quickly rallied past to 13-9 before Chinese Taipei shortened the lead to 13-14 with the help of good blocks and reception. Taipei continued with their determined effort and finally managed to take a one point advantage over Korea. Lin Chun Yi and Liao Wan Ju developed a good chemistry between them as captain Chen Wan Tin also joined in. They proved to be too good for their opponents for a second set win with a margin of 6 points at 25-19.
Chinese Taipei extended its lead over DPR Korea to 2-1 thanks to their success in the third set. The reception errors led Korea to an 11-point defeat in the third set at 14-25. Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei was back in its form and captured the fourth set after a tough fight. They used a 4-point advantage to seize the fourth at 25-21 and declared match victory.
The Head Coach of Chinese Taipei, Norimasa Sakakuchi, was satisfied with his team’s performance. He praised their good work but at the same time urged them not to consider it their best performance. Chinese Taipei has tough matches ahead of it and it should come up with even better performance in the coming fixtures. The winning captain, Teng Yen Min, also had her say about the match as she stated: “We were determined to win this match against DPR Korea and our determination led us to win.”
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