Japan's Erika Araki and Kazakhstan's Xeniya Ilyuchshenko battle at the net | Tokyo, Japan, May 20, 2008 - The third day of the Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament to determine the last four tickets to the Beijing Olympics passed without surprise as all the big teams outclassed their opponents. Serbia easily blanked Korea 3-0, Japan had no problem beating Kazakhstan in the Asian “derby” in straight sets, and Poland continued their strong comeback with a 3-1 win over Dominican Republic. Thailand, meanwhile, notched their first victory of the tournament, crushing Puerto Rico 3-0.
After three days of matches, Japan and Serbia are now leading the standings with six points, followed by Korea and Poland with five points, Dominican Republic and Thailand have four points and Puerto Rico and Kazakhstan three points.
Both Thailand and Puerto Rico entered Tuesday’s first match without a single victory, so one of them was going to get off the mark. And it was the Thais who finally found some form, posting their first victory after two consecutive defeats by overcoming Puerto Rico 25-20, 25-20, 25-20.
With the win, the Asian team improved its win-loss record to 1-2 and dropped Puerto Rico to 0-3. In facing taller players, the Thais played a quick and clever game with a combination of fast attack, blocks and drops, beating strong hits from big hitters Karina Ocasio and Aurea Cruz. Unforced errors in the crucial stage also cost Puerto Rico dearly, sending them to their third straight defeat.
“We could play as we wanted and carried out everything we had practiced,” said Thai captain Wilavan Apinyapong.
Thai Head Coach Nataphon Srisamutnak was very satisfied with their first win at the tournament.
“Our team played very well and made fewer mistakes than previous matches,” said Srisamutnak.
Puerto Rico Head Coach Juan Carlos Nunez gave two reasons for his team’s defeat. “We did not concentrate enough and it is very difficult to maintain concentration,” said Nunez. “The Thais have many attack combinations. We did not do well with our blocks.”
Serbia, third place at the 2006 FIVB World Championship, stopped Korea’s winning run in Tuesday’s second match and maintained their perfect start to the Women’s Olympic qualifier by crushing the Asians in straight sets 25-23, 25-23, 25-19. With the third win, Serbia maintained a perfect win-loss record while Korea’s record dropped to 2-1. The Serbs were made to work hard for much of the three-set victory over Korea, especially in the first two sets.
The Koreans caught the Serbs by surprise, jumping to an early lead in the first two sets. But with devastating spikes and powerful blocks the Serbs chased back and clinched the next two sets. In the third set, the Serbs seemed to further break the spirited resistance of the Koreans, pulling away to an easy finish.
“The Asian teams play a different volleyball from Europe, they play faster,” said Serbia Head Coach Zoran Terzic. “We try to make our job easier with serving. On the other hand we made too many mistakes, especially in blocking. The main reason for our victory is our mentality is at a high level. We are now one more step to Beijing and I hope to finish the job in the next two games.”
Said Korean Head Coach Jung-Chul Lee: “Our concentration did not last through to the third set. The biggest problem for our team is that we do not have a lot of depth on the bench.”
In the third match of the day, two-time European Champions Poland bounced back strongly after their opening-day defeat at the hands of hosts Japan by beating a spirited Dominican Republic in four sets (23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-23) to register their second win after three of their seven matches. The match, which lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes, was much closer than the scores suggested. Poland’s Mogentale Glinka scored a total of 11 points, the highest in the match, and was really cutting loose, finding space all over the court.
“She is one of the best players in the world,” Poland’s Head Coach Marco Bonitta said of Glinka. “She has injuries before coming to Japan. She played not good today, but better. She will improve and she is very important for us.
“We were not in the best condition and it is a difficult match and we know we must do the best to win. Now we can look ahead (and that’s a good thing).”
Said Dominican Republic Head Coach Beato Miguel Cruz: “(The players) are becoming better at teamwork and so I am satisfied.”
Winless Kazakhstan faced unbeaten host Japan in the last match of the day and the Asian Champion showed no mercy in condemning Kazakhstan to a third straight defeat, winning 25-21, 33-31, 25-21 in the Asian “derby” in front of another large and noisy crowd.
Japan met some trouble in the first and second set. Kazakhstan led the first set 21-20 and in the second the guest team also had a three-point lead. In a frantic end to the second set, Kazakhstan missed six points before Japan took the set 33-31 on their fourth set point.
“I thought we must concentrate otherwise it would be a very difficult match. It was very hard to control Kazakhstan captain as she just never gave up,” said Japan Head Coach Shoichi Yanagimoto.
Said Japan captain Yoshie Takeshita: “I think the second set was everything today. We should manage each match by match, starting again tomorrow.”
Kazakhstan Head Coach Viktor Zhuravlev said: “Today’s game result was very clear. As I told everyone in the press conference the other day, our team had prepared very well. The team did not play their best game, but I think the team condition is getting better. We have hopes to win our next game.”
Italy, Brazil, USA, Algeria, Cuba and Venezuela have already booked their tickets through the 2007 FIVB World Cup or Continental Qualification Tournament while China has qualified as the host country.
The Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournaments includes eight teams: host Japan, Korea, Thailand and Kazakhstan (best ranked teams at Asian Continental Championship), Serbia and Poland (best world ranked from CEV), Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (best ranked teams from NORCECA).
The round-robin tournament from May 17-25 also double as the Asian Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament and so the best three teams plus the best Asian team (even if any of the best three teams as Asians) will book their tickets to Beijing.
Day Three results:
Thailand vs. Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-20)
Serbia vs. Korea 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-19)
Poland vs. Dominican Republic 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-23 )
Japan vs. Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-21, 33-31, 25-21)
Standings (two points for victory, one for loss):
Japan and Serbia: 6 points
Poland and Korea: 5 points
Dominican Republic and Thailand: 4 points
Kazakhstan and Puerto Rico: 3 points Schedule for May 21:
Thailand vs. Serbia
Puerto Rico vs. Kazakhstan
Korea vs. Poland
Dominican Republic vs. Japan |
