Tokyo, Japan, May 17, 2008 – The big battle to determine the last four tickets to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games started on Saturday at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. The first day saw four Asian Teams took on two from Europe and two from NORCECA respectively with favourites Serbia beating Kazakhstan, Dominican Republic downing Thailand and Korea taking over Puerto Rico. But the most exiting and tense match is the Asian Champion host Japan brushed aside two times European Champion in the last match of the day. The round-robin tournament also doubles up as the Asian Women's Olympic Qualification Tournament and so the best three teams plus the best Asian team (even if any of the best three teams are Asians) will book the last four berths in the Volleyball Tournament of the Olympic Games. Host Japan is joined by Thailand, Korea, Kazakhstan (best-ranked teams at the 2007 Asian Volleyball Championship), Serbia and Poland (beat-ranked teams from Europe), Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (best-ranked teams from NORCECA). Thailand vs. Dominican Republic Thailand was swept by Dominican Republic held off a feisty Thailand 3-0 in the opening match of the first day. The world No. 14 Dominicans, the 11 finisher at Athens Olympic Games, beat the 18th-ranked Asians 26-24, 25-22, 26-24 but had to save set points in the first and third sets. Right from the beginning, it was clear it is a match between two teams with different style. The smaller Thai players, whose average height is only 1.77m, tried to take control with their well-worked combinations and court craft while the much taller Dominican girls packed more power with spikes and blockings In the end it is the taller team won. Head Coach Beato Miguel Cruz of Dominican Republic was very happy to win today's victory, saying "It is very important and significant to win the first game. Asian teams like Thailand are a very difficult opponent for us because of their speed but our players could play quite well, especially on defense and blocking. Thai head Coach Srisamutnak Nataphon said "I am satisfied with my players who played well today. We had chances to win the first and third set, but Thai players were nervous in their first match. We also made errors, especially in the blockings. That is the reason why we missed the chances to win the match." Korea vs. Puerto Rico In the second match of the day, playing against the 19th-ranked Puerto Rico, the lowest ranked of the eight teams taking part in the tournament, the Koreans, the 11th-ranked Asians romped home 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21. The action was fast and furious from the start, as both teams knew this was a match they must win if they were to stand a chance of qualifying for Beijing. The Asians stormed to a 2-0 lead without meeting strong challenges. In the first set, Korea jumped to a six point lead at 16-10 with attack and digging and led all the way to win the first set 25-22. Kim Min-Ji, who had scored four points in the first set, kept up the good work in the second. Her block on Alvarez made it 6-4 Korea who led 16-14 at the second TTO. and, thanks to some alert net work from Yang Hyo-Jin, Korea took the set 25-16 for 2-0. In the third set, Puerto Rico fought back gamely, with strong serving and better blocking, notably on the dangerous Kim Min-Ji. The NORCECA team made it 1-2 after taking the third set 25-21.Though Puerto Rico came out for the fourth set in determined mood, racing into a five-point lead at 8-3, the spirited Koreans never gave up their confidence, and rallied back to win the fourth set 25-21. Head Coach Lee Jung-Chul of Korea said "Today we were in a good mood because the serve and quick attack were working well. Puerto Rico is a tall team, so I appreciate my players for keeping their concentration during the game. The first win is very important in any tournament, and we want to keep this pace." Puerto Rico head Coach Juan Carlos Nunez agreed that this was a very important game, but they lost in the end. They hope to control mistakes and play better for the rest of this competition. Serbia vs. Kazakhstan World championship bronze medalist Serbia showed characteristic power as they moved past the off-form Kazakhstan, 16th-ranked Kazakhstan 3-1 in the third match Serbia came home (25-19, 25-12, 23-25, 25-14) in the third match, underlining their reputation as favourites to win Olympic ticket. What was looking like a Serb whitewash had turned into a tense duel in the third set. A combination of more fluid spikes from Kazakhstan and mistakes from Serbia enabled the Kazakhs to take the third set, as they finally seemed relaxed and enjoying the game. However, with the Kazakh defence scattered and Serbian stronger attacking, the Serbs moved up a gear, ending the game 3-1. Serbia’s head Coach Zoran Terzic said "Even in some other competitions the first match is usually difficult for the team. We made some mistakes today but I am satisfied with my team and the game. We played our best and hope to fight better tomorrow. Kazakhstan head Coach Viktor Zhurevlev said "Serbia is one of the strongest teams in the world. They are a very hard team to beat, and we got too nervous to try to get one point and were not able to do what we normally do, so from now on we want to play our own game." Poland vs. Japan The eighth-ranked Japan delighted a packed house and made an impressive start in their bid to win a berth in the Olympic Games by beating world No. 9 Poland 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 19-25, 25-17). Japan’s superior team work, slicker combination and tight defense paved the way for a comfortable win, which Japan deserved to get. Polish head coach Marco Bonitta was very sad with their defeat. He said "Today we played so bad, especially in serve and in counter-attack. We began with mistakes in serve. But we played against a Japan team that played so good in defense and counter-attack. We must go ahead because we have six matches." Head coach of Japan Shoichi Yanagimoto was very excited. He said "For me this is my second challenge for OQT, so I and my team were a little nervous, but the biggest factor of this win was our mindset that really wanted to get a ticket to the Olympics. Over some hard practice we could come together as a national team and through this competition the teamwork will be the most important thing to win." The WWOQT will continue tomorrow with four matches in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. First Day Results: Thailand vs. Dominican Republic 0-3 (24-26, 22-25, 24-26) The schedule on second day: Dominican Republic vs. Serbia | |
