Kitakyushu (Japan), Sep 6 — India started their campaign in the Asian Men's Volleyball Championship with a straight-sets defeat to three-time winners China on Saturday, going down 21-25, 26-28, 25-27 in a hard-fought Pool B encounter.
India lost the first set by a small margin but put up a stronger resistance in the next two.
India pushed the second set beyond regulation time before China edged it 28-26. The third followed a similar pattern, with China holding their nerve in another tight finish to seal the match.
China head coach Vital Heynen said they had achieved the team's pre-match objective, but added that his players had failed to sustain their strong performance through the end of the second and third sets and still had room for improvement, reports Xinhua.
China won 45 points in attack while India earned 39, while China pulled off nine blocks as against six by India.
The victory gave China three points and left them second in Pool B, behind Iran on points ratio after each team had played once. Iran swept New Zealand 3-0 in the group's opening match on Friday.
In other groups, South Korea defeated Chinese Taipei 3-1 (29-27, 19-25, 25-15, 26-15); host Japan beat Oman 3-1 (25-18, 25-13, 20-25, 25-9) while Thailand defeated Qatar 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-15). In Pool A, Australia beat Bahrain 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-23).
The 12 participating teams are divided into three pools, with the top two from each group and the two best third-placed sides advancing to the quarterfinals.
The tournament runs until September 13. The champions will secure Asia's first men's volleyball berth at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, while the three medalists will qualify for the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup.
India will take on Iran in their next league match while China will face New Zealand on Monday in their second pool match.