South Korea Defeats Qatar 3-0 in Women's Volleyball to Secure Quarterfinal Berth

The South Korean women's national volleyball team (ranked 28th in the world), led by head coach Cha Sang-hyun, defeated Qatar (ranked 106th) to secure their advance to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

As Vietnam (ranked 32nd) defeated Hong Kong 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18) in a match held on the same day, both South Korea and Vietnam successfully advanced to the quarterfinals side by side.

South Korea claimed a dominant 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-10) victory against Qatar in their Group D second match of the women's volleyball tournament held today (the 17th) at the Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Having defeated Hong Kong (ranked 127th) 3-0 the previous day, South Korea recorded two consecutive wins and 6 points.

In the subsequent match held on the same day, Vietnam (ranked 32nd) also beat Hong Kong 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18) to record two straight wins and 6 points, confirming their quarterfinal spot alongside South Korea.

First place in Group D will be decided in the final group stage match between South Korea and Vietnam, which takes place on the 18th.

If South Korea finishes second in the group, they are likely to face China (ranked 7th), the heavy favorite to top Group B, in the quarterfinals.

In today's match, South Korea rested starting middle blocker Lee Da-hyun (NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki) and started Jung Ho-young (JungKwanJang) instead. In the second set, they also managed the stamina of key players by substituting Yuk Seo-young (IBK Altos) in for team captain Kang Sohwi (Korea Expressway Corporation).

Pulling ahead from the early stages of the first set, South Korea grabbed an early grip on the match at 11-4 by scoring 10 consecutive points through an attack by Park Eun-jin (JungKwanJang) and four consecutive service aces.

At 22-6, attacks by Na Hyun-su (Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate) and a direct attack by Jung Ho-young, followed by a centerline violation from Qatar, brought the score to 25-6, allowing South Korea to comfortably take the first set.

In the second set, at 6-2, Jung Ho-young seized the early momentum by landing three consecutive service aces targeting the back corners of the opponent's court.

South Korea reeled off 9 consecutive points from a 16-6 lead to take the second set 25-6.

The final third set similarly saw South Korea widen the gap to over 10 points by scoring 11 points starting from a 6-3 lead.

At 22-8, a block and a direct play by Park Eun-jin created match point, and Park Eun-seo wrapped up the victory at 24-10.

Park Eun-jin led both teams with 15 points, while Jung Ho-young contributed 14 points and Park Eun-seo added 11.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.