Taiwan on Saturday won the silver medal at the Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship in Jordan, following a narrow 3-2 loss to South Korea.
Taiwan recorded their best performance since the championships started in 2023, when they finished third in Hangzhou, China, advancing to the final this year with a 3-1 victory over China.
In the semi-final, Taiwan bested China 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, while South Korea edged Japan 20-25, 25-19, 15-25, 25-22, 15-8.
Photo courtesy of the Asian Volleyball Confederation
After a neck-and-neck first set against South Korea, ending in a 28-26 win, Taiwan fell 25-21 and 25-11 in the next two sets.
In the fourth set, Taiwan leveled the match with a 25-19 win, but ultimately lost in the deciding set 15-13.
Taiwan coach Hou Ya-hui said she was proud of her team for putting up a strong fight, despite being shorter than the Chinese and South Korean players.
After losing, she consoled the team, some of whom burst into tears, telling them they played great.
“I [told them] there is nothing to cry about,” Hou said. “Even if we fell short by a little, everyone gave their best performance. I also encouraged them to get even in the U17 games next year.”
Chen Ting-yi, the team’s key player at just age 15, contributed to multiple victories, Hou said, adding that with some guidance, Chen would gain stability and confidence.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
RSS