Volleyball

Vietnamese players (in white) try to block a Japan attack during the 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship's bronze medal match. Photos of AVC

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam ended their 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship in fourth place, the highest ever position in the nation's history.

Việt Nam lost a dramatic third-place playoff to powerhouse Japan on September 6 at Chartchai Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The sets scores were 21-25, 25-14, 25-22, 20-25, 15-11.

Việt Nam fought hard to take the two-point lead at 18-16 in the opening set. Star spiker Trần Thị Thanh Thúy joined forces with middle blocker Nguyễn Thị Trinh for blocks to hand Vietnam the set win at 25-21.

The second and third sets saw the Japanese showcasing their offensive mobility from spectacular attacks from Okumu Obna Fuyumi Hawi, Yuki Nishikawa and Miyu Nakagawa. Japan secured the comfortable second set 25-14 and worked a little harder to win 25-22 third set 

Vietnam made a solid start in the fourth set to establish an early 16-12 lead before stretching it to 23-16 before taking 25-20 win, forcing the tie-breaker.

Japan remained strong defensively and offensively in the decider to win the thrilling set 15-11, match and bronze medal.

Thailand won the Asian championship title beating China 3-2 in the final match.

The fourth position completed a successful season for Việt Nam, who captured the continent’s two major titles – Asian Women’s Club Championship under the Sport Centre 1’s banner and the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup.

In this tournament, they made history after stunning Korea 3-2 to secure their semi-finals slot, their first-time ever to finish among top four since their first participation in the Asian Championship in 1991 in Bangkok. 

In the later final match, Thailand won the championship trophy for third time after stunning China in hard-fought, five-set thriller 25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14. VNS