Vietnam stuns China in men’s volleyball at Asian Games 2018

Pit against gold medal contender China and other strong teams like Thailand and Sri Lanka, the Vietnamese men’s volleyball team saw Asiad 2018 as an opportunity to learn and gain experience.

Instead, they have managed to pull off the upset of the tournament, beating China 25-23, 26-24, 19-25, 22-25, 21-19.

Although China didn’t bring their strongest squad to Asiad 2018, they are still one of the favorites to win the gold medal.

Vietnam has played an excellent volleyball game with gold medal contender China. Photo courtesy of Asian Volleyball Confederation

With nothing to lose, Vietnam went for broke and managed to squeak ahead in a closely fought first set. Excited, they maintained their momentum and took the second set in another close encounter, coming back after being down by four points.

China fought back to win the next two sets and it seemed as though Vietnam’s dream run was over.

The team has fought until the last seconds to secure the victory. Photo courtesy of Asian Volleyball Confederation

With momentum on their side, China took an early lead in the final set, but Vietnam showed great spirit to catch up. At 19-19, Vietnam found perfect precision as Tu Thanh Thuan scored to end the tense game 21-19.

Vietnam will play Sri Lanka on August 23 and Thailand on August 24.

The women’s national volleyball team lost in straight sets to China on Sunday.