Asian Games: India loses in women's volleyball preliminary round match

HANGZHOU: The Indian women's volleyball team failed to clinch a win against North Korea in the women's volleyball preliminary round match at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday.

India lost the game by 1-3 against North Korea in their first match of the tournament.

India started off well and got the upper hand on the match after winning the first set by 25-23.

Catch the Live updates of Asian Games 2023

However, later they lost in all three sets of the game.

Shaalini Saravanan and Soorya displayed a stellar performances in the game and clinched 14 and 18 points respectively.

The Indian men's volleyball team are already out of the tournament after they failed to make their place in the playoffs of the men's volleyball.

In their last game, India lost against their arch-rivals Pakistan by 3-0 on September 26. In the match, Pakistan defeated India in straight three sets by 21-25, 20-25, 23-25 to grab the fifth spot. Meanwhile, India had to settle for the sixth place.

Both India and Pakistan started the game with equal footing, matching each other's pace, stealing away points and making it hard for anyone to take the lead.

But Pakistan were first to clinch a two-point lead with a score of 6-8. But India bounced back to make it 9-all and then put themselves in the driver's seat with the score reading 16-13.

Pakistan bounced back in the game after a stellar contest to win the first set by 25-21.

Following this, Pakistan continued their dominance in the game and bagged the next two sets even though India tried hard to make a comeback in the match. Indian women's volleyball team will play against China in their upcoming match at the ongoing Asian Games on Sunday.

India is currently in fourth place with a total of 34 points which includes eight gold, 13 silvers, and 13 bronze medals.