Asian Games: Indian men’s volleyball team beats Chinese Taipei to enter quarter-finals | Asian Games 2023 News

NEW DELHI: The Indian men’s volleyball team continued its remarkable journey at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, securing a spot in the quarter-finals with an impressive 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei on Friday.
After their sensational triumph over South Korea, India maintained their winning streak with a 25-22, 25-22, and 25-21 result, clinching the match in an hour and 25 minutes. This win ensures India’s progress to the 1-6th place playoffs, where they will face the winner of the upcoming match between Japan and Kazakhstan, scheduled for Sunday.
India’s captain, Vinit, spoke to reporters following the match, saying, “They are an experienced team, they play fast. They took the lead in the first two sets, but our team covered well and snatched the lead. We expected a four-setter, but our team played well with man-to-man marking and improved a lot.”

The match saw India initially trailing 6-10, but Erin Varghese‘s contributions helped narrow the gap to 11-13. India managed to draw level at 21-21 before Varghese and Ashwal Rai secured the final two points to take the first set.
In the second set, India took an early 3-0 lead, but Chinese Taipei fought back to level the scores at 17-17. Nevertheless, India surged ahead in the closing moments, securing consecutive points to claim the set 25-22.

The decider witnessed India making a strong start, leading 10-4 at one stage. However, Chinese Taipei managed to reduce the deficit to 10-12 before equalising the score at 14-14. India regained control, moving ahead to 21-18 before comfortably sealing the set 25-21.
Assistant coach Jaideep Sarkar noted the significance of the victory, saying, “Pakistan also had defeated them (Chinese Taipei) 3-0, so we were under pressure to defeat them. With back-to-back wins over Korea and Chinese Taipei, this is a good morale-booster ahead of our match against Japan. We are not inferior to anyone. Japan is a good side, and we expect a tough contest.”