China wins World GP in women's volleyball
( 2003-08-04 09:32) (India Times)
A fledgling Chinese team routed top-ranked Russia on Sunday to capture its
first ever World Grand Prix in women's volleyball.
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| China's Wang Lina reacts after
defeating defending champions Russia.
[Sina] | Playing with a significant disadvantage
in height and experience, China toppled Russia's towering defense in straight
sets 25-22, 28-26, 25-21.
Ruirui Zhao, 22, led China's attack with 16 points, edging her Russian rival,
the 2.04-meter Ekaterina Gamova who finished with 14.
Zhao received help
from Yang Hao, who spiked set-winning points to close out the first and second
sets.
The Russian team regained its composure in the third set, jumping
out to a 15-10 lead. However, China's sprinting defense caught the Russians at
18-18 and raced to a 25-21 win to grab the tournament's $1million cash
prize.
The win vindicates China's loss to Russia in last year's title
bout, held in Hong Kong. Russia, which has won the Grand Prix three times, also
edged China in a bronze medal match during last year's World Championships in
Berlin.
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Chinese players pose after winning the
US$1,000,000 award. [Sina] | In a
press conference after the match, Chinese Coach Chen Zhonghe said his team was
satisfied with the victory but added: ``I don't think the Russians played there
best tonight.''
Earlier in the day, the United States took the
tournament's bronze medal, beating the Netherlands in straight sets 25-22,
25-20, 28-26.
A combined scoring effort from Keba Phipps, Logan Tom and
Danielle Scott prevailed over dominant play from the Netherlands' Francien
Huurman, who pelted the US defense with 19 points on spike.
Also Sunday,
host Italy beat South Korea in four sets 25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 25-13, to finish
in fifth place at 1-4.
South Korea, which finished at the top of its
preliminary group ahead of Russia, exits the final round in sixth place at
0-5.
The tournament, which was scheduled to be held in Asia, was moved to
Italy earlier this year because of fears about SARS.
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