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Taiwanese women defeat South Korea

Taiwan's Wu Hsiao-li, No. 15, Li Chun-yi, No. 2 and Kou Nai-han, No. 7, cheer after winning the first set against South Korea during their first-round match at the Women's World Volleyball Championships in Tokyo yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Taiwan pulled off another major upset victory when they defeated four-time Asian silver medalists South Korea in the women's event at the World Volleyball Championships yesterday.

The Taiwanese women beat the Asian Games silver medalists 26-24, 16-25, 29-27, 24-26, 15-10.

It was their third straight win after racking up their first-ever victory against former world champions Japan and defeating African champions Kenya.

They squandered match points leading 24-22 in the fourth set, but jumped ahead to 5-2 in the fifth set and never looked back to finish the match in one hour 55 minutes.

With their win, Taiwan move closer to the second stage, leading the six-team Pool A round robin with a 3-0 record, while South Korea are on 1-2.

"The Korean players are really strong and they played very well to make it difficult for us, but we played our very best to win," Taiwan captain Chen Shu-li said.

"We won it because we planned our strategy very carefully against the Korean team's quick play," Chen added.

Coach Lin Kuang-hung said: "I'm very happy to win such a tough game and proud of the team for playing patiently. We worked hard. That's why we won these three games."

South Korea coach Kim Myeong-soo said the team needed to regain their concentration following the defeat.

"I feel very sad to lose this game. My players lacked concentration. We will have a meeting before the following two matches to regain it," Kim said.

Favorites Brazil were also stretched before beating the Netherlands 25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-9 in Group C in Kobe.

Serbia and Montenegro, who defeated defending champions Italy and three-time former world champions Cuba, needed just less than two hours to beat Peru 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-23 in Group D in Nagoya.

In Group B in Sapporo, Azerbaijan defeated Dominican Republic 21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-14.

Brazil and Serbia and Montenegro stood with a 3-0 record, South Korea, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands and Peru with 1-2, and Dominican Republic 0-3.
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