Women's volleyball team beat Nepal to reach final eight

Korea defeated Nepal in a women's volleyball preliminary round on Monday at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. [XINHUA]

The South Korean women’s volleyball team thrashed Nepal 3-0 in Pool C at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday, joining the last eight with one win and one loss.

South Korea faced Nepal at Hangzhou Normal University Cangqian Gymnasium and displayed a better performance from the 3-2 loss against Vietnam a day earlier.

South Korea won the first set 25-21 thanks to Kang So-hwi’s good performance, scoring multiple aces.

They dominated in the second set and conceded fewer points, ending it 25-14. They rode that momentum and won the third set 25-11 for a final score of 3-0.

Kang was the top scorer of the game, managing 19 points alone. Lee Seon-woo and Pyo Seung-ju scored 10 points apiece.

The win allowed South Korea to join Pool E as Pool C runners-up. South Korea will now face North Korea, China and Vietnam in Pool E, where the top two teams reach the semifinals.

The bottom two teams will play the fifth to eighth place deciding games.

The South Korean women’s team has secured eight medals in the Asiad. The last time they won gold was in 2014, when South Korean volleyball star Kim Yeon-young led the team.

Kim retired from national duty in 2021 and is one of the commentators for this year’s Asiad volleyball games.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]