SEOUL: Thailand stunned 13-time winners China on Saturday to advance to the finals of the 2019 Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship in Seoul.
The Thai women will be seeking their third Asian title — they won previously in 2009 and 2013 — and a measure of revenge when they face Japan in the final on Sunday at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul.
The match, which will be shown live on Thai Rath TV starting at 2pm, will be a replay of the 2017 final, which the Japanese won 3-2, when the last tournament was held in the Philippines.
Japan defeated South Korea 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 26-24, 28-26) in their semi-final earlier on Saturday.
Saturday’s semi-final against China was a tightly contested four-set affair, won 3-1 (23-25, 25–22, 34-32, 25-23) by Thailand. Chatchu-on Moksri led all scorers with 28 points, followed by Onuma Sittirak. Yang Hanyu and Liu Yanhan each had 19 points for China in a gruelling match that lasted 2 hours and 25 minutes.