Kazakhstan sent India packing 3-0 (25-16 25-22 25-13) in their last preliminary match to top Pool D at the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championshi

Kazakhstan sent India packing 3-0 (25-16 25-22 25-13) in their last preliminary match to top Pool D at the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship at the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Gymnasium on Tuesday.

Zinat Kadyrbekova led Kazakhstan with 12 points including 9 attacks from 15 attempts, while Elakiya M. Muthu scored a team-high 10 points for India.

The win was a sweet revenge for Kazakhstan as they went down in straight sets to India in the recent Princess Cup 20th South East Asian Women’s U17 Championship at the same competition venue here. India picked up silver in that championship.

India, which came back to beat Malaysia 3-1 in the previous match, took an initial 5-1 lead in the first set, thanks to their solid defence. However, Kazakhstan roared back with great attacks from Kristina Strukova and Samai Ibrayeva to catch the Indians at 8-all and went on their unchallenged run to win the set 25-16.

The rhythm was still with Kazakhstan as they took the 10-8 lead in the second set. As the Indians regained their form to catch the rivals at 22-22, the Kazakhs still lived up to their expectation, winning three points in a row to snatch the close set 25-22.

The third set turned out to be a one-sided battle as Kazakhstan led from start to finish before capturing the easy set 25-13 and match.

“We expected a straight-set win in this match, but things turned sour as Zhannel Nogaibayeva, one of my key players, had a right ankle sprain during the morning practice. This was a big trouble for our team because, without her, I think we could not win easily. However, she told us she was okay and the show had to go on. I’m very happy that my team beat India as we lost to them 0-3 in the recent Princess Cup here.  A key for our team’s success was speed. Everyone in my team moved around the court during the competition to receive and dig. I hope that we can play this form in our next match,” Japanese Koichi Shuto, coach of Kazakhstan, commented after that match.

Kazakhstan captured the top spot in Pool D and will next take on Hong Kong in the quarter-final ranking round, while India is due to play Australia.

In the other game, Thailand overpowered Chinese Taipei in a hard-fought five-set thriller 19-25 25-19 21-25 25-20 17-15 to top Pool B at the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship.

Australia defied against all odds to stun Iran in tie-breaker 22-25 20-25 25-19 25-21 15-9 and top Pool C at their last preliminary encounter in the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship at the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Gymnasium.