Japan and Thailand to meet at Asian Championship semifinals

Continental powerhouses Japan and Thailand are set to meet in the semifinals of the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Asian Championship after they comfortably overcame the tournament's quarterfinal round on Thursday.

The national teams, which combine to have eight continental titles, will play on Saturday at 17:15 local time (9:15 UTC) in Tianjin, China, in a match that, besides the spot in the final, will also be worth a place at the 2027 FIVB Volleyball World Cup.

• Watch the AVC Women's Volleyball Asian Championship on VBTV

The two other quarterfinal matches will be held on Friday, when Indonesia and Iran battle at 15:00 (7:00 UTC) and China and Vietnam clash at 19:30 (11:30 UTC). The winners of the 2026 Asian Championship will qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and the three best-ranked national teams will earn spots at the 2027 World Cup.

After producing a dominant campaign to win Pool C without dropping any sets, Japan continued to push in the quarterfinals and secured another 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-13) victory, this one against Chinese Taipei, to make it to the semifinals.

Opposite Yukiko Wada led the Japanese victory with 19 points (17 kills, two aces), while team captain and star outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa delivered 14 (nine kills, three blocks, two aces).

"I think we've been playing well," setter Nanami Seki said. "So all we have to do is keep doing it. We'll prepare the same way."

Thailand sweep Korea

Defending champions Thailand also found their way to the semifinals with a clean victory, topping Korea 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-21) in the quarterfinals.

Star opposite Pimpichaya Kokram scored 19 points (18 kills, one block) in the Thai victory, three more than outside hitter Sasipapron Janthawisut. Opposite Hyunsoo Na registered 12 points (ten kills, two blocks) for Korea.

"I think that we played better today than before," outside hitter Chatchu-On Moksri, who scored 12 points, said. "We always try to stay calm and play without pressure, and I think that today we managed to do it. Korea have a good team and they fought until the end."

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