China lead title contention in women's volleyball Asian Cup
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Defending champion China led the contention for the top honor of the 2010 Asian Cup for women's volleyball by beating Kazakhstan 3-0 in Taicang on Monday.
Asian Championship winner Thailand also claim their second win 3-0 over Vietnam while another Asian powerhouse South Korea trounced Iran with straight sets 25-18, 25-14, 25-23.
It took China 70 minutes to gain their second victory in the tournament with 25-16, 25-21, 25-22. Wang Yimei scored 12 points, 11 spikes and two aces, to lead the Chinese team, while Li Juan added 11.
After take first two sets 25-16 and 25-21, China came across a scary moment when Kazakhstan led 5-1 at the start of the third set and extended the lead to 8-2. China head coach Yu Juemin called time-out twice to stop Kazakhstan's momentum.
After the time-outs, China launched a 4-1 run to tied the match at 15-15. Kazakhstan tried to claw it back but only saw China make three points in a row to seal the set 25-22.
Thailand, who beat China to claim their first Asian champion in 2009, also showed their determine for another title in Asia. They whitewashed Iran with 25-22, 25-20 and 25-17 in one hour and seven minutes.
Thailand showed their overwhelming power on the net as they scored 47 points by spiking against Iran's 29. Kalika Kanthong led the match with 18 points for Thailand, Onuma Sittirak added 17 and Wilavan Apinyapong 10.
Also on Monday, Japan booked a 25-18, 25-27, 25-23 and 25-23 victory over Chinese Taipei. Japan's headcoach Abo Kiyoshi said that his team will try for a podium place of the tournament.
"The players in this team are all very young players, this is their first international senior tournament. They won't compete in the World Championship next month, but I think they will be the main power of the Japan team in the 2016 Olympics," said Abo. "They will learn a lot here in the Asian Cup, no matter we win or loss."
"We will try to enter the top three of the tournament, and a win against Chinese Taipei is very important for us," added Abo.
Japan will face Vietnam on Tuesday, if they win, they will play against China in the quarterfinals.
"I don't think that far. The most important thing for us is to prepare for the match against Vietnam," said Abo.
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