Preview of second round of 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship
The 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth Volleyball World Championship got the green light last Friday, August 12.
Young and aspiring U-19 teams from sixteen countries of the world headed toward Turkey and installed their bases in Ankara. Teams were initially divided into four pools, where each pool consisted of four teams. The preliminary robin round of the tournament
engaged participants in thrilling encounters for first three days. Preliminary matches were played at two different venues. Ankara Sports hall and Baskent Hall provided grounds for first round matches. The first round successfully covered its length from August
12-14 and revealed the pool ranking on Sunday.
After two-day break, the second round of the tournament is set to start on Tuesday, August 16. Teams are once again divided into four pools but this time the composition is different. Pool E and Pool F have top-8 teams of the tournament, while Pool G and
H will accommodate the rest. Top-two finishers from each pool of the previous round will be vying for the top eight slots of the tournament. The rest will be competing for 9-16 positions. The Baskent Hall will be the host of top-8 teams of the tournament in
second round.
Pool E
China, Argentina, Germany, and hosts Turkey have been placed in Pool E. Chinese team worked out a great run in the previous round and climbed up to the top position in Pool C. They finished the first round with the final score of 3-0. China will open the
second round by taking on Argentina. It is surely going to be a tough competition as both sides are fully prepared for the volleyball scrimmage. Argentina qualified for the second round after finishing second in Pool B of previous round.
Turkish team will also be playing under the tag of Pool E. Turks remained undefeated in first round and topped Pool A standings. Local girls have high hopes to keep up the same energy in next round. Home team will put up against Germany in the first match
of second round. German closed the first round with loss of one match in Pool D.
Pool F
Pool F is composed of Teams from Brazil, Poland, Serbia, and Japan. The opening match of the second round in Pool F will featured Serbia and Brazil. Serbs are regarded as second-place finisher of the previous round in Pool C. On the other hand, defending
champions Brazil had complete authority in Pool B and pushed everyone behind. The maintained a winning streak of 3 matches and earned the status of top-team in the group. Powerhouse Brazil has strong team-line and it has better chances to subdue the Serbs.
Nonetheless, the situation will become evident as the two teams contest their abilities on the centre court.
The second match in Pool F will bring together teams from Poland and Japan. Polish team bagged six points in the previous round for winning two matches. They dropped one of the preliminary round matches and had to settle down in the second slot. On contrary,
Japan dug up huge success in first round and got hold of the top position of Pool D. Japanese team is likely repeat the same amazing performance in the second round. They shared great rivalry against Poland and it will be interesting to watch them in a head-to-head
fight.
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