Thailand and China top their pools after preliminaries in WGP qualification tournament
 |
|
Thailand seem likely to take one of the two spots up for grabs in the 2013 World Grand Prix |
|
|
Almaty, Kazakhstan, September 13, 2012 – Thailand and China kept unblemished win-loss records to top their respective pools after the preliminary round of the 3rd AVC Cup for Women held at the Baluan Sholak Sport and Culture Palace in Almaty.
Two teams will qualify for the 2013 World Grand Prix through this tournament, filling the final vacancies available to teams from the AVC region. China and Japan are already qualified, so the top two finishers besides those two will secure their right to participate next year.
China clearly dominated their final match against Iran September 12, winning in straight sets (25-16, 25-10, 25-10). China’s focus was at their absolute best as the six players on court played solidly through to the final whistle.
Chinese setter Mi Yang allowed all her teammates to get involved in the offense. As their main players Wei Qiuyue and Wang Yimei watched from the side-lines - their coach wanted to rest them - the younger players took control of the match.
Meanwhile, Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand saw off Kazakhstan 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21). The hosts started off strongly and secured victory in the tight first set, but Thailand took the momentum in the succeeding sets and cruised to victory.
Onuma Sittirak was unstoppable, scoring 26 points – 25 points coming from strong spikes. Onuma’s spiking proficiency dislodged the Kazakh defence, although the Kazakhs’ blocking was tremendous in recording 14 points.
Nootsara Tomkom’s crafty setting skills allowed her teammates to run a balanced offense, which carried them on in the most critical moments of each set.
Match Schedule - Quarterfinals
Thailand v Chinese Taipei
China v TPE
Kazakhstan v Japan
Vietnam v Korea
So far, 11 teams have qualified to the 2013 World Grand Prix.
|
Continent
|
Number of Vacancies
|
Determined By
|
Teams Qualified
|
|
Africa
|
1
|
To Be
Confirmed
|
|
|
Asia
|
2
|
AVC Cup,
Kazakhstan, September 10 to 16, 2012
|
|
|
|
2
|
Automatically
Qualified
|
Japan,
China
|
|
Europe
|
4
|
European
League, plus an additional process T.B.C.
|
Czech
Republic, Bulgaria
|
|
|
1
|
Automatically
Qualified
|
Poland
|
|
NORCECA
|
4
|
Pan
American Cup
|
USA, Cuba,
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico
|
|
South
America
|
2
|
Pan
American Cup
|
Brazil,
Argentina
|
|
LATEST NEWS
|
Copyright© 2011 FIVB - All rights reserved -