Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, October 2, 2008 – Asia’s top four teams had a field day and host Thailand clinched their first win on Day 2 of the inaugural Asian Women’s Cup Volleyball Championship, where two teams will qualify for the 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix.

Thailand beat Vietnam in a rematch of last year’s South East Asian Games showdown. Japan, China and South Korea, along with Thailand the top four teams at last year’s Asian Women’s Senior Volleyball Championship at the same venue here, also pulled off convincing victories over their respective rivals at The Mall Nakhon Ratchasima’s MCC Hall on Thursday.

Korea thrashed Chinese Taipei 25-15, 25-20, 25-16 in 66 minutes to claim their second successive win in the one-week tournament, while China did likewise.

World No. 5 China, bronze medallists at the Beijing Olympic Games, took the excellent offensive combination of hard-hitting Wang Yimei and Li Juan and scintillating blocks by Liu Yanan and Ma Yunwen to mercilessly crush lacklustre Australia 25-12, 25-13, 25-9 in 50 minutes.

Japan also had no problem in beating underdogs Malaysia in a totally one-sided battle, allowing the inexperienced opponents only 17 points in a remarkable 25-3, 25-4, 25-10 win and claiming their second victory in a row in the tournament.

Thailand clinched their first victory in the championship on Thursday by thrashing old foes Vietnam, the team they had beaten in the final clash of the last year’s 24th SEA Games here, in straight sets 25-17, 25-12, 25-16.

With Japan and China already qualified for next year's World Grand Prix, the two highest-finishing teams here excluding those two will advance to the 2009 FIVB competition.

Against Chinese Taipei, world No. 10 Korea, the Doha Asian Games silver medallists, proved their dramatic 3-2 win over hosts Thailand the previous day was no fluke, beating the gallant rivals in three sets.

The formidable Koreans, powered by hard-hitter Kim Min-Ji, who scored a match-high 21 kills in 66 attempts, punctured the Taiwanese defence with their spectacular spikes and stuff blocks to bag the comfortable first set.

The second set became tighter with Chinese Taipei, fresh from taking second position at the recent Asian Women’s Juniors Championship on home soil to book a place in next year’s World Women’s Juniors Championship in Mexico, playing with more guts and spirit to claim pole position at 17-14.

However, their rally was short-lived as Korea gradually toughened up and counter-attacked with effective drops and excellent cross-court spikes. The Koreans, who finished a disappointing fourth place at last year’s Asian meet at the same battle ground here, caught the rivals at 20-20 and stormed on to win the set 25-20.

Korea marched on with their superb form into the third set, which they won 25-16. Yang Hyo-Jin scored a game-high 13 points from 47 attempts for the Korean side, while Chen Wan Ting top-scored with 11 points for Chinese Taipei.

After the match against Vietnam, Thailand Head Coach Natapon Srisamutnak said, “I think my girls played very well. Our next match against Chinese Taipei should be no problem if we can maintain this form. Today’s win boosted my team’s confidence for playing next matches. Taiwanese players are small, but they are also skilful with deadly smashes and good teamwork. Still, I’m quite certain that we can beat them.

“In the quarter-finals, we will also have an easy job as we are due to take on either Australia or Malaysia. The real daunting task awaits us in the semi-finals, which we are likely to challenge the Doha Asian Games winners China.

“It’s a pity we lost to Korea on our opening match. If not, we would have an easier job taking on Japan instead of China in the semi-finals. Nevertheless, I hope my girls will give all-out in the remaining matches,” said Srisamutnak.

Despite the loss to Thailand, Vietnamese Head Coach Luong Khuong Thuong was still happy with his girls’ form.

“We played well, but Thailand just played better. We trained only three weeks ahead of this championship. Yet, I’m satisfied with my team’s performance. They did their best and used every tactics they had. Thailand just proved a cut above us,” Thuong said.

“It’s a pity that four experienced players in my team called it a day, with a few of them marrying. My top priority in this championship is just to see my players learn more tactics and techniques from our rival teams. My expectation cannot be that high here.

“I think our next match against Korea should be much better than the one against Thailand. We had played the Thai team for several times and that’s why players of both teams knew one another. We know each other’s form and we always lost to Thailand. Against the Koreans, I hope we will fare much better because they had hardly seen our form. We have more to show them,” said the Vietnamese Head Coach.

On Friday, the final day of the group round-robin preliminaries, Thailand go up against Chinese Taipei, Korea play Vietnam, Australia take on Malaysia and Japan challenge China in a clash of the Asian titans.