Asian Women's Championship Semifinals China vs. Iran (Commentary by Jang So-yeon, SOOP Volleyball Neutral 1 Channel). 3rd/4th Place Match Tomorrow, Sunday at 4:15 PM, Finals at 7:45 PM

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[China vs. Iran] 23rd Asian Women's Volleyball Championship - Semifinals
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It is assessed that Iran's skills have improved recently. In the AVC Cup held this June, Iran lost to Indonesia 1-3, but in the quarterfinals of the Asian Championship, they defeated Indonesia 3-1 to advance to the semifinals.
The result of the semifinal match that just ended is that Thailand defeated Japan to advance to the finals. It seems to be the first time I've seen Thailand beat Japan in a match between first-string rosters. In the VNL, Japan had a perfect 7-0 record against Thailand. In last year's VNL, although Thailand lost to Japan, they lost 2-3 (25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 15-25, 11-15), showing that Thailand is no longer an easy opponent for Japan.
Since it is said that this year's Asian Championship offers an Olympic berth to the winning team, all participating teams have fielded their first-string rosters. In previous Asian Championships, the Chinese and Japanese national teams did not field their first-string rosters, so in the 2023 tournament, Thailand won the championship by defeating China 3-2 in the finals. In the 2013 tournament, Thailand won the championship by defeating Japan 3-0.
Moving forward, since the Asian Championship held before the Olympics grants an Olympic berth to the winner, it seems that first-string players will continue to participate in Asian Championships held prior to the Olympics.