Korea routs Qatar in women's volleyball, sets up Vietnam showdown

Korea defeated Qatar in its second preliminary group round match of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Thursday, strengthening its position for the quarterfinals.

In the women's volleyball preliminary Pool D match at Park Arena Komaki in Komaki, just north of Nagoya, Japan, Korea beat Qatar 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-10).

Korea is grouped in Pool D with Hong Kong, Qatar and Vietnam, with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals.

Following a 3-0 victory over Hong Kong the previous day, Korea remained atop Pool D, while Vietnam will face Hong Kong later Thursday after a 3-0 win over Qatar.

Korea will play Vietnam on Friday at the same venue to decide first place in Pool D.

In Thursday's match against Qatar, Korea took the 75-22 edge in total attacks, 13-0 in service winners and 10-1 in blocks, demonstrating its dominance throughout the match.

In the first set, Korea scored 10 straight points while middle blocker Park Eun-jin was serving to extend its lead to 21-4 and continued to dominate through the end of the set.

Korea replaced its starting lineup with reserve players in the second set but maintained its dominance, recording 14 spikes, six service winners and four blocks.

The third set followed a similar pattern, as Korea reached match point without difficulty.

The 20th Asian Games, the first quadrennial continental multisport event held in Japan in 32 years, will officially open on Saturday, with some sports, such as basketball, football and volleyball, already under way.

Yonhap