South Korea Defeats Tough Rival Vietnam in Women's Volleyball Asian Championship Opener, Closing in on Quarterfinals

The women's national volleyball team, led by head coach Cha Sang-hyun (ranked 28th in the world), has taken a major step toward reaching the quarterfinals by defeating formidable rival Vietnam (ranked 33rd) in their opening match of the 2026 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, which offers a berth for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

In the first match of Group C in the preliminary round held today (the 22nd) at the Tianjin Olympic Center Gymnasium in China, the national team defeated Vietnam 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 25-17), placing second in the group behind Japan.

This tournament features 12 teams divided into three groups of four for the preliminary round. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-place teams across all groups, will advance to the quarterfinals.

South Korea will face Japan, world-ranked 6th and a favorite to win, on the 23rd, and play their final preliminary match against lower-ranked Hong Kong (ranked 115th) on the 26th.

Given the realistic gap in strength against Japan, South Korea's primary and realistic goal was to defeat Vietnam and secure second place in the group to advance to the quarterfinals. With today's victory, the likelihood of achieving that goal has increased significantly.

The South Korean women's volleyball team also washed away its past nightmares against Vietnam.

The national team suffered shocking defeats to Vietnam in their opening matches at both the 2023 Asian Championship and the Hangzhou Asian Games, failing to reach the semifinals in both tournaments and subsequently beginning a downward spiral in international competitiveness.

Meeting Vietnam as their first opponent again in this tournament, South Korea brushed off outside concerns and successfully achieved revenge.

Team captain Kang So-hui scored a team-high 20 points, including 2 blocks and 3 service aces.

Na Hyun-su contributed 14 points, Lee Da-hyun 13 points, Yuk Seo-young 9 points, and Lee Ye-rim 8 points.

Meanwhile, Japan defeated Hong Kong 3-0 yesterday.

The winner of this tournament will secure a spot at the 2028 LA Olympics.

The top three teams will earn qualification for the 2027 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Women's World Cup (formerly the World Championship).

(Photo: Capture from FIVB official website, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.