This victory helped Vietnam finish the group stage unbeaten.
In the last game of women’s rattan ball group stage, Vietnam clashed with Indonesia on the opponent’s home grown, backed by hundreds of raucous fans. With the home advantage, Indonesia started strong and won the first set.
But Vietnam asserted itself firmly to win the next two sets for a 2-1 victory.
With no third place playoff, this victory assures Vietnam of a bronze medal. They will face South Korea in the semi-finals, while top gold medal contender Thailand will clash with Myanmar.
Bui Thi Hai Yen serving the ball. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Binh |
“When Indonesia took the lead, we held each others’ hands and shouted, we can do this, we can do this until we lost our voice, and we made it,” rattan ball player Bui Thi Hai Yen told VnExpress.
“We want to beat Thailand in the final. We came here with no other goal than winning the shiny gold medal,” Yen said.
Nine countries participating in the Asian Games 2018 rattan ball competition were divided into two groups. Vietnam topped group B, beating Malaysia, Myanmar, Japan and Indonesia.