Korea and Japan will battle for a spot at the World Youth Women’s Championship.
The Korea U18 Women’s National Team, led by Kim Eui-sung, will face Japan in the quarterfinals of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) U18 Women’s Championship 2024 at the Nakhon Pathom Gymnasium in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand on Tuesday.
Korea qualified for the quarterfinals by finishing second in Group D with a 2-1 record. They won against Australia (3-1) on Nov. 16, lost to Chinese Taipei (0-3) on Nov. 17, and won against India (3-0) on Nov. 18. 토토사이트 순위 Chinese Taipei topped the group with a 3-0 record.
South Korea dominated the offense against Australia and India. They outshot Australia 55-34 and India 39-19 in team offense. Against Chinese Taipei, the team was held to 22 points in a shutout loss. Taiwan scored 50 points. That’s more than twice as many.
South Korea will need a win against Japan to punch their ticket to the World Youth Women’s Championship, which is awarded to the fourth best team in the tournament. Japan, the defending champions, are a formidable opponent. The defending champions defeated Iran on Sunday and the Philippines on Monday to secure the top spot in Group B. Both matches were played in straight sets. Both matches were straight sets, and neither team had a 20-point lead.
However, the match was never close. South Korea had the momentum from the sweep in their last match. As Kim told reporters on Nov. 11, “Our goal is to finish in the top four. We are confident. We’ve been sweating for a long time for this moment, and we’ve played well so far with no injuries overall. We have to do it, and we will do it,” he said, expressing confidence.
“Topping the group is the primary goal. If we finish second in the group and make it to the quarterfinals, we will be drawn to play a quarterfinal against one of the winners of Group A, Group B or Group C. Powerhouses Thailand, Japan, and China are in Group A, B, and C, respectively. Of course, our players are just as good. Even if we face them, we will play our own game. But it’s always better to have fewer variables,” he said. Despite not topping the group, Kim is determined to play Japan early on.
Two years ago, South Korea finished third at the tournament under Jang Yun-hee. They breezed through the group stage in straight sets before losing to China in the semifinals. They went on to defeat Thailand in the third-place match for the title. With that, they qualified for the World Youth Women’s Championship, which is awarded to the fourth-place finisher.
All eyes will be on Kim to see if she can beat Japan and advance to the worlds once again.
