Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, September 6, 2023: Thailand won the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship for the third time in history by beating super power China 3-2 in a pulsating final on Wednesday night.
The Thais, playing in front of 5,000 boisterous fans at the Korat Chatchai Hall, outlasted 13-time champions China 25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14.
This was Thailand’s fifth appearance in the final and their victory here in the 22nd edition of the Asian women’s championship added to previous titles in 2009 and 2013.
The Thais, ranked 14th in the world, won the first set 25-21 and led 24-18 in the second set, only for the fifth-ranked China to win six points in a row to pull level 24-24 and go on to take the second set 27-25 for 1-1.
Thailand recovered from this disappointment to win the third set 25-19 to lead 2-1, but China came back again and two straight points from Wu Mengjie helped China take the fourth set 25-20 and force the tiebreaker at 2-2.
With match point at 15-14, Thailand could finally celebrate when a Chinese attack from the left found only net.
Thailand’s Chatchu-On Moksri scored a match-high 23 points from 21 spikes, one block and one ace and was named tournament MVP, while outside hitter Ajcharaporn Kongyot and middle blocker Thatdao Nuekjang added another 22 and 16 points, respectively.
Wu Mengjie replied with a team-high 22 points for China.
Japan had earlier defeated Vietnam 3-2 to claim third place in the championship.
Source: https://asianvolleyball.net
