Japan underlined their supremacy over the SMM 19th Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship after an incredible come-from-behind 3-2 (26-28 20-25 25-16 25-16 15-7) victory over Thailand in the final showdown at the Alonte Sports Arena

Japan have already captured the Asian title for three times in 1975 in Melbourne, Australia, 1983 at home in Fukuoka, and 2007 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The Japanese were on cloud nine on Thursday as they sealed their fourth Asian Senior Women’s crown with remarkable unbeaten record aside from helping make Japan a clean sweep of both men’s and women’s events contested this year. The Asian Senior Men’s Championship ended on August 1 in Surabaya, Indonesia, with Japan powering past Kazakhstan in the final clash to reign supreme.

The Thursday’s win stretched the Japan’s invincibility over Thailand to four in a row including two at the recent World Grand Prix. In this top-tier competition earlier, Thailand went down to the same rivals in the top 8 playoff match.

Thailand, which have already won the Asian title twice in 2009 in Hanoi, Vietnam and in 2013 on their home soil in Nakhon Ratchasima, also had their sights firmly set on their third Asian crown, heading the final showdown on high note with a stunning straight-set win over the Incheon Asian Games winners Korea in the semi-finals.

“I’m very happy that we eventually won. It was a very tough match against Thailand. They performed exceptionally well in the first two sets. We tried to read their tactics and play our game. Fortunately, we came back fast in the third set. After winning that set, my players started confidently in the following sets and when Thailand made too many mistakes, we then had a chance. However, despite the victory, I think Thailand are coming very strong this time with their young, potential players,” Japan head coach Kumi Nakada said in an interview through a translator after the awards presentation and closing ceremony.

At the previous Asian meet two years ago, Japan, sending second-string to the top-tier competition, left Tianjin, China with their heads low in disappointment after a sixth-place finish out there.

Earlier, Korea had to be content with the bronze medal after venting out their frustration on dethroned champion China 25-11, 25-18, 25-20. China, defending and 13-time Asian winners, sent a strong squad of young bloods this time, said China head coach Bao Zhuang, because their national players and famous Chinese spikers are preparing for the 13th China National Games later this month.

Korea have never won the Asian title since they made their debut appearance at the inaugural Asian Championship in Melbourne, Australia in 1975. They have entered seven finals, but lost them all. This included the 2015 edition in Tianjin, where they went down to hosts China in the showdown.

“We are disappointed with the loss to Thailand in the semi-finals on Wednesday, but we are happy that we beat China for the bronze medal. Actually, we had a tight schedule before competing in this championship. We contested the World Grand Prix ahead of coming to Manila and there are so many young players in our team. One key player in our team also got a back injury. I think the young players in our team learned a lot from this tournament. After this, we will train more for the World Championship Qualification in Thailand and hope to do our best there,” Kim Yeon Koung said in an interview.

Vietnam maintained their fifth position achieved in Tianjin two years ago after cruising past Chinese Taipei 25-23 25-22 25-23 in the 5th-6th playoff, while Kazakhstan also returned with the similar seventh place they finished in Tianjin. The Kazakh side struggled to beat hosts Philippines in hard-fought five-setter 25-20 25-16 21-25 21-25 15-3 in the 7th-8th playoff encounter.

THURSDAY’S FINAL RESULTS

At the Alonte Sports Arena

Playoffs

7th-8th: Kazakhstan b Philippines 3-2 (25-20 25-16 21-25 21-25 15-3)

5th-6th: Vietnam b Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-23 25-22 25-23)

Bronze-medal match: Korea b China 3-0 (25-11 25-18 25-20)

Championship match: Japan b Thailand 3-2 (26-28 20-25 25-16 25-16 15-7)

FINAL RANKINGS

1. Japan

2. Thailand

3. Korea

4. China

5. Vietnam

6. Chinese Taipei

7. Kazakhstan

8. Philippines

9. Iran

10. Australia

11. Hong Kong

12. New Zealand

13. Sri Lanka

14. Maldives

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

First Best Outside Spiker: Kim Yeon Koung (Korea No.10)

Second Best Outside Spiker: Chatchu-on Moksri (Thailand No.19)

First Best Middle Blocker: Hattaya Bamrungsuk (Thailand No.7)

Second Best Middle Blocker: Nana Iwasaka (Japan No.3)

Best Opposite Spiker: Jin Ye (China No.9)

Best Setter: Nootsara Tomkom (Thailand No.13)

First Best Libero: Mako Kobata (Japan No.29)

Second Best Libero: Dawn Nicole Macandili (Philippines No.15)

Most Valuable Player: Risa Shinnabe (Japan No.4)

2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship qualification (AVC) POOL B(THAILAND) Scheduled to be held at Venue: Thailand Nakhon Pathom Sports Center Gymnasium, Nakhon Pathom Dates: 20–24 September 2017

Hosts Indonesia produced a fantastic comeback 3-2 (24-26 14-25 25-20 25-21 15-11) victory over Qatar to join Kazakhstan, Iran, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Japan, Australia and China to the top eight teams at the SMM 19th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship

Contesting their last Pool A encounter against Qatar at the Tri Dharma Petrokimia Gymnasium, Indonesia shrugged off their dismal start of losing two sets in a row 24-26 14-25 to regain their poise and fight back to take the remaining three sets 25-20 25-21 15-11.

Rendy Febriant Tamamilang scored a team-high 23 points for the host side including 19 kills from 38 attempts and 3 aces. Rivan Nurmulki contributed similar 19 kills plus 3 solid blocks, while Bojan Dukic led Qatar with 18 points. Digne Papemaguette added 10 kills and 5 kill blocks.

Another Pool A match on Wednesday saw Kazakhstan maintain their unbeaten record following their sensational 25-13 25-22 25-17 win over Saudi Arabia.

Former successive two-time champions Iran, fielding a U23 squad in their final preparation for the next month’s FIVB Volleyball Men’s U23 World Championship in Cairo, Egypt, had a perfect run in Pool B after not losing a set to their respective opponents. Iran ended their preliminary match with a bang by beating Chinese Taipei, whose team members competed with the 2015 Asian Club winning-Taichung Bank, in straight sets 25-20 30-28 25-21.

“I think we played a good match against a strong team like Chinese Taipei. Winning 3-0 is very important for us and we will try to keep winning in our next matches. We next play China, one of the strongest teams in Asia with an excellent coach Raul Lozano, and Australia, the team which have already qualified for the World Championship. Both teams are of course strong for us to be reckoned with. For us, it’s important to gain competition experience ahead of the Men’s U23 World Championship. The key point of our success is that we attacked and served well,” Iran’s Argentine head coach Juan Manuel Cichello commented after the match.

In the other Pool B clash, Pakistan put it past Iraq in dramatic four-setter 26-24 25-17 17-25 25-22.

In Pool C, both matches played tough five sets on Wednesday. Korea pulled off a stunning 25-22 21-25 17-25 25-18 15-9 win over defending and eight-time winners Japan, with Vietnam powering past Sri Lanka 25-19 16-25 25-21 20-25 15-9.

Another surprise win came from Pool D, where Australia survived a scare from China after a 3-0 (26-24 25-13 25-23) rout of the 2015 bronze medallists.

“It was not a surprise win against China because it was what we worked for. We played China twice in the World League Group 2 and we beat them in the first meet in straight sets and lost the second one 1-3. I think it was our team’s good chance to win today. Winning 3-0 is a small surprise, but I’m happy because this win carries us to the next round. It’s important for us,” Australia’s head coach Mark Lebedew commented after the match against China.

“Next we play Chinese Taipei and then Iran. We played Chinese Taipei one week ago at the World Championship AVC Qualifier Pool B, 3-0 for us, but every set was difficult and it was a really hard match. So, tomorrow will be a hard match for us also. But we are in really good conditions. We have a strong team that we can play everyday. Yesterday, Thomas Hodges scored 22 points and today, Williams Lincoln scored 16 points, so, we are lucky in this way that we can manage team as well as our good performance.”

Thailand struggled to hit form in the same pool, recovering from one-set loss to breeze past Hong Kong in a four-set battle which ended 23-25 25-8 25-19 25-21 in favour of the Thai team.

At the end of the pool round-robin preliminaries on Wednesday, Kazakhstan captured the top spot in Pool A with 7 points from successive three wins, followed by hosts Indonesia with 6 points from 2 wins against 1 loss. Qatar and Saudi Arabia finished third and fourth places respectively.

The Pool B honours went to Iran with a clean sweep and 9 points. Chinese Taipei had 6 points from two wins against one loss. Pakistan and Iraq collected 3 and no point respectively.

Korea won Pool C with 8 points from straight three wins, while title-holders Japan came in second place with 7 points. Pakistan and Iraq were placed third and fourth, while promising Australia claimed Pool D with 8 points from straight three wins. China, Thailand and Hong Kong finished second, third and fourth places with 6, 4, 0 point respectively.

Playoffs for top-8 teams and 9th-16th are being held from July 27 to 29, with Friday, July 28 will be the rest day.

Wednesday’s results
Pool round-robin preliminaries
Pool A
Indonesia b Qatar 3-2 (24-26 14-25 25-20 25-21 15-11)
Kazakhstan b Saudi Arabia 3-0 (25-13 25-22 25-17)

Pool B
Iran b Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-20 30-28 25-21)
Pakistan b Iraq 3-1 (26-24 25-17 17-25 25-22)

Pool C
Korea b Japan 3-2 (25-22 21-25 17-25 25-18 15-9)
Vietnam b Sri Lanka 3-2 (25-19 16-25 25-21 20-25 15-9)

Pool D
Australia b China 3-0 (26-24 25-13 25-23)
Thailand b Hong Kong 3-1 (23-25 25-8 25-19 25-21)

Rankings after end of preliminaries
Pool A: 1. Kazakhstan; 2. Indonesia; 3. Qatar; 4. Saudi Arabia
Pool B: 1. Iran; 2. Chinese Taipei; 3. Pakistan; 4. Iraq
Pool C: 1. Korea; 2. Japan; 3. Vietnam; 4. Sri Lanka
Pool D: 1. Australia; 2. China; 3. Thailand; 4. Hong Kong

Match schedule
At the Tri Dharma Petrokimia Gymnasium
11.30am: 1D-Australia v 2B-Chinese Taipei
14.00pm: 1B-Iran v 2D-China
16.30pm: 1A-Kazakhstan v 2C-Japan
19.00pm: 1C-Korea v 2A-Indonesia

At the Wahana Ekspresi Poesponegoro Gymnasium
11.30am: 3A-Qatar v 4C-Sri Lanka
14.00pm: 3B-Pakistan v 4D-Hong Kong
16.30pm: 3C-Vietnam v 4A-Saudi Arabia
19.00pm: 3D-Thailand v 4B-Iraq

FIVB World Grand Prix gets underway in Bangkok as Thailand,Italy,Turkey and Dominican Republic would battle for the honours for Pool H1.

FIVB World Grand Prix gets underway at Hua Mak stadium in Bangkok as 4 teams battle it out for supremacy in the major International event.Host Thailand will be playing against Dominican Republic while Italy clashes against Turkey in the tournament opener the event that would span out over July 21-23,2017

In the opening game Italy and Turkey went head to head as both teams went neck to neck till first technical time out.Around 12 point mark Italy broke away with the lead by 17-12 with strong spikes and good blocking from it's towering power.Turkey got a couple of close decisions against their favour as Turkey were successful in one out of their three challenges.Eventually conceding the set by 17-25In the second set, both team went for the glory as Italy lead 8-7 at the first technical timeout and stretched the lead to 12-9 but Turkey managed to pull back and tied the score at 12-12 as Italy Coach Davide Mazzanti was forced to take a time out to break the rhythm of Turkey.After the break Italy looked stronger and managed a slender lead by 16-13 at the second technical timeout.But Turkey made it 16-19   as the spikers upped the ante in the later half of the set forcing Italy to take a time out to re organize their blocking.But Turkey brought their A-game in second set as they rallied to win the second set by 20-25 margin.In the third both teams were tied at 19-19 though Turkey looked the stronger side.But on the last few points Italy managed to break a lead by good tactical play to lead by 19-21 margin and eventually winning the set by 21-25 margin to take a crucial 2-1 lead.In third set Turkey managed to lead by 14-16 at the second technical timeout but eventually Italy winning by 25-21 followed by a marathon 4th set to beat Turkey by 32-30 in a game that lasted over 2 hours.

In the second game host,Thailand took on Dominican Republic at the full capacity Hua Mak Indoor Stadium as the local favourites looked to start tournament with a bang.In the first set Thailand started strong with two back to back aces to lead 8-4 at the first technical time out as the the crowd buzzed cheering the home team.Thailand kept the momentum going and the spikers were on their mark while the blockers were blocking most spikes from Dominican attack line to lead 16-12 at the 2nd technical time out and rallying onto winning the first set by 17-25 margin.
In the second set Thailand raced to 5-1 lead owing to some clinical spiking and aces dished out the Dominican receivers.Thailand took lead of 8-5 at first technical time  out but Dominican republic pulled back to level scores at 8-8.Dominican Republic shrugged of their initial nervous moments as they got a grip of the game to lead 16-13 at second technical time out. Thailand surged for a late come back with some crucial points and trailed 19-23 and eventually conceded the set by 21-25 points.
In the third set, a close battle saw Dominican republic leading by a point to head into first technical time out 8-7 and leading 16-14 at the second technical timeout.Thailand came back strong after the time out and spikes and stretched the Dominican receiving line to lead 20-17 but Thailand played out of their skin to pull off an amazing 26-24 margin victory to make it 2-1 at the end of third set.
Going in with the momentum in the fourth set,Thailand were rattled by some good court play off the court as Dominican forwards as the stronger spikers smashed out the initial exchange to lead by 13-8 in the fourth set but Thailand crawled back into the game winning few strong points to reduce the deficit to 16-13 at the second Technical time out.At one stage Thailand looked they could seal the match as they tied at 19-19 in a good passage of play but eventually The stronger Dominican players stretched the Thailand back-line to win the set 21-25.
In the final set Dominican republic started strong to lead 4-8 at changeover. Domincan used their height and reach and the setter combined well with spikers to win the final set by a comfortable 15-7 margin to  win the match by 3-2 margin.

FINAL TEAM RANKINGS of 2nd Asian Womens U23 Volleyball Championship

FINAL TEAM RANKINGS of 2nd Asian Womens U23 Volleyball Championship
1. Japan – qualified for 2017 World Championship
2. Thailand – qualified for 2017 World Championship
3. Vietnam
4. Chinese Taipei
5. Kazakhstan
6. Hong Kong
7. Malaysia
8. Iran
9. Uzbekistan
10. Australia
11. New Zealand
12. Sri Lanka
13. Macao
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Best Outside Spikers
1. Chatchu-on Moksri (No.19 Thailand)
2. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy (No.3 Vietnam)
Best Setter
Miki Sakurai (No.8 Japan)
Best Opposite Spiker
Pimpichaya Kokram (No.12 Thailand)
Best Middle Blockers
1. Ayaka Sugi (No.3 Japan)
2. Hathairat Jarat (No.4 Thailand)
Best Libero
Lai Xiang-Chen (No.1 Chinese Taipei)
Most Valuable Player
Misaki Yamauchi (No.1 Japan)

Japan produced a fantastic comeback 3-2 (20-25 16-25 25-19 27-25 15-12) to beat host Thailand to win SMM 2nd Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship

Formidable Japan produced a fantastic comeback 3-2 (20-25 16-25 25-19 27-25 15-12) victory over determined Thailand in the hard-fought final showdown to underline their supremacy over the SMM 2nd Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship at the packed The Mall Nakhon Ratchasima’s MCC Hall on Sunday.

Both Thailand and Japan have already clinched two slots to contest the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U23 World Championship in Slovenia from September 10 to 17 following their Saturday’s wins in the semi-finals against Vietnam and Chinese Taipei respectively.

In the semi-final rematch of the previous edition in the Philippines two years ago, Thailand, which finished runners-up to eventual winners China in the 2015 edition, came up much stronger in the final clash, with over 3,500 home fans boosting their team’s morale.

World No.8 Thailand took the first two sets 25-20 25-16, thanks to their impenetrable defence and Ajcharaporn Kongyot’s deadly spikes. However, Japan, fourth place at both the Asian meet in 2015 and the World Championship in Turkey the same year, roared back to win the following two sets 25-19 27-25.

In the thrilling decider, Japan fared much better, refraining from making hasty unforced mistakes, captured the set 15-12 and the championship. For Japan, it was a sweet revenge against Thailand as the Thais beat them 3-2 in the semi-finals at the previous episode.

“It was a very difficult match as we expected. Thailand played extremely well in the first two sets while we made too many errors especially on our service. Thailand are very strong on their side-out attacks and they adapted well to our game plan. Then we tried to adapt our system in the next two sets by fielding our players from the bench to the court and they played very well. We trained together for two weeks before this championship. I am very happy that we finally won this tournament. For our preparation to the World Championship, in this match our players made a lot of mistakes, so we have to adjust and change something to our players before participating in the world meet,” Japan’s head coach Kiyoshi Abo commented after the match.

Day 3 :SMM AVC BEACH TOUR - 2ND SATUN PAK BARA MASTER(Quarter Finals and Semis)

SMM AVC BEACH TOUR - 2ND SATUN PAK BARA MASTER-Men's Pool(Quarter finals)

Qatar ,Australia ,Indonesia advance to semi final stage of  SMM AVC BEACH TOUR - 2ND SATUN PAK BARA MASTER as day started with Indonesian  pair of Candra/Asfiya (INA) beat Takahashi/Shiratori (JPN) by 26-28, 15-21 margin to set semi final encounter with Qatar pair of Julio/Tijan later on same day.
In Court 2 Quarter final action Julio/Ahmed Tijan (QAT) beat Australian pair of Durant/Schubert (AUS)  23-25, 12-21 to advance to semis.Qatar had double joy as teir second pair Jefferson/Cherif (QAT) beat local Thai pair of I.Nuttanon/P.Sedtawat (THA) by convincing 21-8,21-15 margin much to the dissapoitnement of the home crowd.In the final encounter of the Men's semis Aussie pair of McHugh/Schumann (AUS) pummeled Kiwi duo O’Dea/O’Dea (NZL) 21-14,21-11 margin to set up a mouth watering semi final clash with infrom Qatari duo Jefferson/Cherif (QAT).

SMM AVC BEACH TOUR - 2ND SATUN PAK BARA MASTER-Women's Pool(Quarter Final)

In the Women's pool Quarter final encounter local Thai pair of Radarong/Udomchavee (THA) beat Kiwi pair Tilley/Bain (NZL) by convincing 21-13, 21-16 margin to set semi final date with Wang/Yue (CHN) of China later today.
In the second Quarter final of the Chinese pairs were at loggerhead as Wang X.X/Xue (CHN) faced Wang/Yue (CHN) eventually after a 45 minute battle over three sets Wang/Yue (CHN) emerged victorious by winning the match 16-21, 21-18, 9-15 showing both power and control as they controlled the game well despite losing the second set.
In another quarter final contest Bawden/Clancy (AUS) of Australia beat Kazakh pair Mashkova/Samalikova (KAZ) by ambling through a comfortable straight set match winning by 21-14,21-8 margin in a 30 minute encounter to face off with Japanese duo of Suzuki/Ishii (JPN) as the Japanese pair beat local favorite Numwong/Hongpak (THA) by 21-16,21-19 margin as the Thai pair displayed some late heroics but wasn't enough to save them from elimination.

SMM AVC BEACH TOUR - 2ND SATUN PAK BARA MASTER-Men's Pool(Semi finals)

SMM AVC BEACH TOUR - 2ND SATUN PAK BARA MASTER First semi final Indonesian pair of Candra/Asfiya (INA) beat Qatari Men's duo Julio/Ahmed Tijan (QAT) 2-0 by 21-15,21-15 margin.

Indonesian pair of Candra/Asfiya used tactical play against the bigger opponent to deny them the advantage of size and reach as they used the rallies to their advantage by making the opponent stretch all across the court to find easy pockets and using guile and dummy at the nets to cruise to a win.

In the second semi Final Australian pair McHugh/Schumann (AUS) faced Jefferson/Cherif (QAT) of Qatar.In a close fought encounter Australia won the first set using the height and wind to their advantage as they charged all out for an opening set win by 21-18 margin.Qatari duo of Jefferson/Cherif made a strong comeback in the second set as they stretched the Aussie pair and gaining points from unforced errors and left handed cross court play of Cherif caused Australia the problem as Cherif worked well with the angles and used the power and dummy smashes to create pockets of open play in the court and denied aerial ball to McHugh to use the aerial ball and height to their advantage. Australia seemed a bit rattled and conceded points through unforced errors and faults to hand the Qatari pair a convincing second set win by 21-13 margin.

Qatar maintained the momentum in third set rallying to a 9-3 lead as Cheriffs left hand troubled Aussie players as they were left to trail the game by 6 to 7 points for most part of it.At 13-5 Australia looked down and out as Cherrif and Jefferson showed good blocking and maintained the momentum of play to the third set by a comfortable 15-8 win in the third set to schedule a Gold medal clash with Candra/Asfiya (INA) of Indonesia tomorrow.

SMM AVC BEACH TOUR - 2ND SATUN PAK BARA MASTER-Women's Pool(Semi finals)

In the first semi Final of the Women's Beach Volleyball pool, local Thai women's pair Radarong/Udomchavee (THA) faced Chinese pair of Wang/Yue (CHN).The Thai pair got the home support of a vocal crowd as they displayed good skill and execution to get end of the rallies and won the initial battle of nerve infront of a healthy crowd to seal the first set by 21-15 margin. In the second set the Chinese pair got their mojo back as the lanky duo used their height and reach to win the second set by a comfortable 21-15 margin.Locked at 1-1 both teams tried to break the deadlock but the third set was a much closer battle as both teams denied breathing space to each other and went neck-and-neck from 9-9 to 19-20 with Wang/Yue leading by a single point.The deadlock was eventually broken at 20-22 as the Chinese managed to finish the set with a strong smash followed by an ace to seal a berth in the final tomorrow.

In the second Women's semi final Bawden/Clancy (AUS) pair  of Australia faced Suzuki/Ishii (JPN) and the dominant Australian pair showed their top game to win the opening set by 21-12 margin.