Asian Games 2023: Indian men's volleyball team beats Chinese Taipei to enter quarterfinals

India's stellar performance in the continental events of the Asian Games 2023 continues. Meanwhile, another good news has been given by the Indian men's volleyball team as they have achieved a historic 3-0 victory over 2018 bronze medallists Chinese Taipei in the 12th round match on Friday.

Also Read: Asian Games 2023 LIVE Updates: Day 5 schedule, Games you must follow

The world number 73 defeated Chinese Taipei 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 to enter the quarter-finals of the Asian Games 2023. The match lasted one hour and 25 minutes. After this victory, the Indian men's volleyball team has reached the quarter-finals. They will face World No.5 Japan for a place in the semi-finals. Japan also registered a 3-0 win against Kazakhstan today. The winners will face either China or Indonesia for a place in the gold medal match, scheduled for September 26.

In this interesting match, Chinese Taipei tried its best to win, but India crossed the threshold of victory on the basis of its excellent performance in the last round (25-21). This was indeed an excellent performance by the Indian team as Chinese Taipei is ranked 43rd in the world.

India lagged 6-10 early on but Erin Varghese helped the side to reduce the gap to 11-13. After lagging for most part, India finally drew parity at 21-21 before Varghese and Ashwal Rai won the final two points to give India the lead. India led 3-0 initially in the second set but Chinese Taipei managed to level the scores at 17-17. However, Indian moved ahead in the final moments with consecutive points to close the issue 25-22.

India made a positive start in the decider, leading 10-4 at one stage. Chinese Taipei managed to narrow it down to 10-12 before drawing level at 14-14. India, however, moved ahead to 21-18 before sealing it comfortably 25-21.

Also Read: Asian Games 2023: Sunil Chhetri scores a late winner to grab the important three points against Bangladesh

Earlier, India pulled out the upset of the Asian Games 2023 when they beat three-time Asian Games champion South Korea in the group stage.

In addition, this is India's best Asian Games performance in volleyball. Before this, India had won its last volleyball medal in 1986 (bronze). However, the Indian women's team is yet to win a medal in volleyball at the Asian Games.