TOKYO, 12 May 2004 — Asian silver medalists South Korea pulled off a major upset by beating Sydney Olympic silver medalists Russia yesterday in the final women’s volleyball qualifying tournament for the Athens Olympics.
The Korean women came from behind for a thrilling 15-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13 victory, while Japan eased aside Nigeria 25-10, 25-9, 25-19, both for a third straight win.
Earlier in the day, Thailand posted their first win in three when they defeated Taiwan 25-21, 25-23, 25-20 in the eight-nation round robin competition.
World champions Italy, who suffered a five-set loss to Japan on the opening day Saturday, also had a straightforward 25-17, 25-13, 25-16 win over Puerto Rico.
“We still have to play some more games, but with this victory, we gained a lot of confidence to win the ticket for Athens,” said a jubilant Kim Se-young, whose effective blocking earned her side five points.
“The top Asian team can win the ticket for Athens, so we really want to win it. We can do it if we play our best together, and we are confident now.”
Kim also scored 15 points from attacking play, while Choi Kwang-hee earned 23 points and Ku Min-jung 16 by hitting unstoppable shots on the Russian court.
Korean coach Kim Cheol-yong said: “We will play Italy tomorrow and Japan on Friday, but today’s win over Russia (took the) pressure off my players mentally, so we can go into following game with ease.”
Russian coach Nikolai Karpol often changed game-setter Marina Sheshenina with Olga Chukanova during the 117-minute match, and said that was the cause of the defeat.
“We couldn’t set up for good attacks because of that. Of course, this is a major set back for us. But this is not a tragedy. We have some games more to play,” said Karpol.
Meanwhile, Italy’s coach Marco Bonitta said: “Since we lost to Japan, we are under heavy pressure, so I’m relieved that we won today. My players were able to keep concentration throughout the match.”
“We have to play South Korea. They defeated Russia today, they played patiently. It will be a tough match,” he added.
South Korea and Japan have a 3-0 win-loss record, Russia and Italy 2-1 and Thailand and Puerto Rico 1-2 ahead of winless Taiwan and Nigeria.
The winners of the tournament and the top-finishing Asian nation will qualify for the Olympics, along with the best two other teams.
