Japan, China and Chinese Taipei qualify for 2024 U17 World Championship

Japan, China and Chinese Taipei climbed the podium at the first edition of the Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship and qualified for the inaugural FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship next year.

The historic continental championship took place from 1 to 8 July in Hangzhou, China. 12 teams split into four round-robin pools of three were initially set to participate in the event before India’s withdrawal. The pool winners and the pool runners-up advanced to the second pool stage consisting of two round-robin pools of four with the winners and runners-up progressing to the semifinals.

In one of the semifinals, Japan delivered a 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-18) shutout of Thailand. In the other, China managed a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-18) win over Chinese Taipei.

First U16 Asian champions Japan (Photo credits: asianvolleyball.net)

In front of over 5,000 spectators in the stands, Japan secured the historic title after producing a 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 25-19) victory over the home team in the gold medal match. Outside hitter and captain Yuzuki Baba contributed a match-high 22 points, including the match winner, while opposite Yang Shuming (pictured in the main photo, spiking past the block of Yuzuki Baba and Kaho Kono; credits: asianvolleyball.net) was China’s most prolific player with 20 points.

The third-place match decided not only the bronze, but also the third team to book a ticket to the 2024 U17 World Championship. Chinese Taipei celebrated a comfortable 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-9) victory over Thailand to occupy the last spot on the podium. Outside hitter Chen Pin-Yu was the best scorer of the game with 16 points.

Chinese Taipei’s Chen Pin-Yu in attack against Thailand (Photo credits: asianvolleyball.net)

Japan’s Yuzuki Baba was named both the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and on the honourable Dream Team, along with setter Hagumi Yoshimura (Japan), opposite Yang Shuming (China), outside hitter Chen Pin-Yu (Chinese Taipei), middle blockers Chen Xiaohui (China) and Kaho Kono (Japan), and libero Li Mingjing (China).

Kazakhstan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Macau, Hong Kong, Mongolia and Australia, in that order, lined up in the places from fifth to eleventh in the final ranking of the tournament.