Japan seems set to grab the crown from the defending and 10-time consecutive champion China for the 14th Asian Senior Women's Volleyball Championship being held for the eighth day on Wednesday in Thailand's northeastern province Nakhon Ratchasima.
At The Mall Nakhon Ratchasima's MCC Hall, China beat Kazakstan 25-21 25-22 25-16 with no surprise in a straight set.
In an previous thrilling encounter on the day, Japan strived to power past a surprisingly challenging host team by 27-25 25-18 23- 25 25-17.
The two victories have different denotation for two Asian powerhouses: Japan moves closer to the championship for the Asian meet, while China seemed doomed to lose its title it has held for a consecutive 10 times.
The Asian meet plays a round-robin format, which means the participating teams will face the same rival just once. The title will be given to the team with highest points, collected on the way that winner for each match played get two points while loser get one point.
After losing 0-3 to Japan on Sunday's match and the win over Kazakstan on Thursday, China ended up with 11 points. Japan, which has kept a unbeaten record, collected 12 points. If no surprise, China and Japan will power past their respective rivals -- Thailand and Kazakstan, and that means Japan will score the highest points.
The nine-day, 13-team Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), which opened on Sept. 5, is regarded as a qualification tournament for the Japan-hosted World Cup in this November, the Japan- hosted Olympic Games Qualification Tournament next May and the 2008 World Grand Prix. Besides Olympic hosts China and Japan, only the top two teams from the Asian meet will make the cut for these three international games above.
Source: Xinhua
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