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DAY
4 - China
wins first title in 15 years
China
finished a dream run Saturday to claim its first major
world volleyball title in 15 years by defeating Korea in
three easy sets 25:13, 25:15, 25:12. With still one
day of competition left, China, with a perfect record of
four wins and on 8 points, cannot be caught by the other
five teams in the single round robin competition. ....
FULL STORY
DAY
3 - USA & BRAZIL TASTE VICTORY
The United
States and Brazil tasted their first victories of the
event as the U.S. won the first match of the day against
Russia 3-1 while Brazil routed Korea 3-0. China
continued its run defeating host nation Japan 3-0.... FULL
STORY
DAY
2 - CHINA IN DRIVERS SEAT
China put
itself into the drivers seat after its second straight
victory, defeating the United States 3-1 on Wednesday..
The Asian champion is 2-0 and on top on the standings
after it finished off defending champion Russia 3-1 on
Tuesday... FULL STORY
DAY 1 - ASIAN TEAMS
HUMBLE WORLD Japan,
China and Korea made Tuesday a Day of Asia as the trio
pocketed as many stunning victories on the opening day
of the 2001 World Grand Champions Cup. It was the wild
card Korea that was the star team of the day, as it
produced the biggest upset by crushing the title
favorite United States 3-1 at the opening match....FULL
STORY
DAY
0 - russia
ready to defend title
Sydney
Olympic silver medallist Russia and 2001 World Grand
Prix champions, USA, lead the field for this years World
Grand Champions Cup that features the four top
continental champions: Asian Champion China, European
Champion Russia, NORCECA Champion USA, South American
Champion Brazil, plus Korea as wild card and Japan as
host nation.. FULL STORY
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China stamps authority on first
title for 15 years - Russia second and Japan third
Fukuoka, Japan, 18 November, 2001 China finished
a dream run Sunday to stamp its authority on its first
major world volleyball title in 15 years by defeating
South American champion Brazil 25:21, 25:17, 21:25
25:23, to keep its perfect record of 5 wins and collect
the US$300,000 first prize cheque.
Russia finished second, Japan third with Brazil, USA
and Korea finishing fourth, fifth and sixth
respectively.
The young Chinese team, that only dropped 3 sets
throughout the tournament, had already claimed the title
after a 3-0 defeat of Korea on Saturday and went into
the last day of competition knowing it had an
unassailable lead over the other five teams in the
single round robin competition.
Russia, Brazil and Japan went into Day 5, the final
day competition of the World Grand Champions Cup womens
volleyball tournament in Fukuoka, Japan on 6 points,
each having a 2:2 win/loss record. USA and Korea were on
5 points with a 1:3 win/loss.
With only second place and the US$150,000 prize at
stake, European champion and Olympic silver medallist
Russia demolished Korea 3-0 in Sundays match, leaving
Brazil the task of having to defeat champions China 3-O
to have a chance at the second position. It was too big
a task even for the South American champion and Olympic
bronze medallist that went down to China in four sets,
and was relegated to fourth position.
This set up a classic encounter for the final match
between host Japan and USA, a match which was being
broadcast live throughout Japan on NTV. The plucky
Japanese used the home-ground advantage and 8,200
partisan fans to its best producing another magnificent
performance to defeat the NORCECA champion 25:20, 24:26,
25:23, 25:18.
The win gave the host nation third place, Japans
highest finish since its bronze medal at the Los Angeles
1984 Olympic Games.
Enigmatic Russian coach Nikolai Karpol, who had been
at his vocal best throughout the tournament, seemed
almost happy at the after match press conference.
Our team has had a hard time this year with five
key members having operations in May and June. The five
members, Belikova, Tiourina, Artamonova, Tichtchenco and
Gamova, all have great experience, but physically they
are not right yet.
"So even with this difficult situation,
compounded by having only four days training with a new
setter before the tournament, we still finished second.
I am quite satisfied with the result, he said.
Each player did their best, he added.
China and the USA team are very good and they did
a very good job at this tournament and Grand Prix, and I
would like to congratulate them.
But I believe Cuba and Russia, based on world
rankings, are still the best two teams in the world.
China do not have much experience, but they are going to
be a very strong team, the Russian coach said.
Final placings: 1. China US$ 300,000 2. Russia US$
150,000 3. Japan US$ 125,000 4. Brazil US$ 75,000 5. USA
US$ 75,000 6. Korea US$ 50,000
Best Player awards:
Most Valuable
Player: Yang Hao (CHN)
Best Scorer:
Ekaterina Gamova (RUS)
Best
Attacker: Elizaveta Tichtchenco (RUS)
Best
Blocker: Ekaterina Gamova (RUS)
Best Server:
Miyuki Takahashi(JPN)
Best Digger:
Stacy Sykora (USA)
Best Setter:
Tatiana Gratcheva (RUS)
Best
Receiver: Virna Dias (BRA)
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