Thailand – China
Defending champions China faced its toughest opponent in the competition as Thailand proved to be the worthiest competitor coming into the match with an unblemished win-loss record. The action between the two best teams excelled with intensity of unprecedented scale but nonetheless, the fate of each team had to be settled.
Although Thailand scored the premiere point, China managed to be the frontrunner earlier in the first set, then a series of long rallies emerged and tied the score at 6-all. China coach Yu Juemin became dissatisfied with this development and called a timeout. The break did not affect the tempo of the match but instead became an exchange of points from each side.
China’s top scorer Hui Ruoqi utilised her quickness and power to create transition plays that made it difficult for the Thai defenders to offset. Her teammate Xu Yunli’s presence at the net was cumbersome for Thailand due to her strong spikes and commanding blocks. Hui and Xu scored 14 points apiece.
China’s game crumbled as Onuma Sittirak unrelentingly assaulted the Chinese defence that deadlocked the first set at 26-all. Thailand somehow managed to pull away and sealed the first set 30-28.
Thailand brilliantly executed combination plays in the second set then China made a reversal of fortune and took the 27-25 win with a similar foundation of how Thailand won in the first set.
Thailand’s assertion in the third and fourth sets made a clear insinuation that they wanted to win the match more than the defending champions. Although another close third set finish of 25-21 occurred, the Thais clutched the lead, this time with lesser challenge from China.
After a very long and suspenseful rally, Thailand struck 8-4 marking the first technical timeout of the fourth set. China struggled to make their way through and only got their points from Thailand’s errors.
China’s main setter Wei Qiuyue saw some action in the match, hoping to bring some spark to the Chinese offense. The substitution move of China was too late and did not immensely help their cause as Thailand started to pull away and completed the final takeover at 25-20.
