India lose to Japan in Asian Volleyball Championship, world ranking slips to 108th
India in action against Japan in Asian Volleyball Championship.
|(Asian Volleyball Confederation)
India lost their last Group A match in Asian Volleyball Championship 2021, against Japan 0-3 on Tuesday. This was India's third loss in the competition after having lost to Qatar and Bahrain earlier and are now out of contention for next round, but they will play nine to 16 classification matches.
In a disappointing performance yet again, the Indian team lost their final group encounter against Japan in the Asian Volleyball Championship 2021 on Tuesday. Indian spikers submitted meekly to hosts 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-18) to finish bottom of their group. Earlier India had also lost to Bahrain and Qatar in straight sets.
The top two teams from each group will now progress to the classification matches. Apart from that, the two finalists will qualify for the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Russia. Now India will play in the ninth to 16th classification matches.
In the previous edition of the tournament, in 2019, India had finished at the eighth position. To qualify for the next round, India was in a must-win situation against world no.10 side Japan. However, the hosts proved too good on the day and did not give any chance to the Indians.
Coming into the tournament, India were ranked 76th, but three losses in as many games see them dip to 108th in the world now. Japan skipper Yuki Ishikawa turned out to be the top-scorer in the match with 18 points, while his Indian counterpart Karthik Ashok scored nine.
