The Vietnamese women’s national volleyball team crushed Mongolia 3-0 on Thursday to win the three-team Group C of the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship, currently taking place in China.
Yesterday, Vietnam staged a seismic 3-2 victory over Japan, which is among the world’s five strongest teams.
In Tianjin City, Vietnam subdued Mongolia 25-18, 25-14, and 25-13.
With all two wins in the group of only three teams, Vietnam has secured one of the two tickets to advance to the second group stage of the tournament, to start on May 23.
Vietnam now ranks 35th in the global women’s volleyball table and Mongolia stands at the 116th place.
The Vietnamese women’s 3-2 win over their Japanese rivals surprised most experts since Japan has under-23 players who are well trained to prepare for the 2020 World Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo.
Vietnamese coach Thai Thanh Tung, who selected young players for the China championship, has been praised for his clever tactics in the victory over Japan.
Vietnam was swept away by the fast rhythm of the Japanese players and thus lost all two opening sets.
After the losses, the Vietnamese players regained their spirit and staged a comeback to win the remaining three sets at 25-22, 25-22, and 18-16.
In the third set, playmaker Hong Dao replaced Linh Chi to pull down the fast rhythm Japan had created.
And Dao was asked to pass the ball to her tall teammates Thanh Thuy, whose height is 1.89m, Bui Thi Nga 1.87m, and Ngoc Hoa 1.83m.
Tran Duc Phan, head of the Vietnamese sports delegation at the 28th Southeast Asian Games, which will be hosted by Singapore from June 5 to 16, said the team will draw lessons from the matches in preparation for future clashes.
The entire group stage of the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship lasts from May 20 to 28.
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