September18September 18, 2026

NAGOYA, Japan – Reigning champion China, Thailand, South Korea, and host Japan scored contrasting wins to sweep their respective groups eliminations in the volleyball competition of the 20^thAsian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park on Thursday, Sept. 18.

China showed too much class and topped Pool B with a convincing 25-18, 25-6, 25-14 win over Kazakhstan at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gym in Okazaki.

Not to be left out was Thailand, which defeated Chinese-Taipei, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20, to top Pool C with a perfect 3-0 card.

Despite their setbacks for the day, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Chinese-Taipei likewise advanced to the knockout stage after finishing second-best in their respective groups.

Over at Park Arena Komaki, South Korea outlasted Vietnam, 25-21, 25-21, 26-28, 25-18, to likewise swept the Pool D, while Japan was tested to the max before pulling off a 25-19, 25-13, 23-25, 25-23 before an enthusiastic home crowd.

In the quarters, Japan goes up against Chinese-Taipei, South Korea taking on Kazakhstasn and Thailand setting up a mouth-watering showdown South East Asian rival Indonesia.

China is going to face Vietnam, with the former heavily favored to cruise into the semis.

All quarterfinal matches will be held at Park Arena Komaki on Sunday, while the classification games are scheduled in Okazaki.

The troika of Yushan Zhuang, Mengjie Wu and Xin Tang delivered expectedly for China to complete a two-game sweep of their group elims.

Zhuang led all scorers for China with 16 points on 14 attacks and two aces while Wu and Tang combined for 21 points after making eight attacks each.

For Thailand, Chatchu-on Moksri and Pimpichaya Okram formed a lethal 1-2 punch by firing 14 points each, while Sasipapron Janthawisut added 13.

Living up to her billing as one of the Games’ prolific scorers, Korean Sohwi Kang erupted for 27 points built around 25 attacks, 1 atttack and ace. She received significant help from Dahyyeon Lee (17), Hyunsoo Na (14), and Seoyoung Yuk (12).

Meantime, Hong Kong-China notched its first win in three matches in Pool D with a 25-9, 25-8, 25-12 demolition of Qatar. It needed only 58 minutes to prevail as its exploited its height advantage.

Mongolia also barged into the win column in Pool C with a 25-20, 25-13, 25-15 win over Kyrgyzstan.