Croatia helps S. Korea clinch Olympic berth

TOKYO, JUNE 24. Asian silver medallist South Korea clinched its ticket for the Sydney Olympic Games when Croatia defeated Japan in the women's volleyball final qualifying round on Saturday.

The Korean women bowed to Atlanta Olympic silver medallists China 21-25, 25-18, 25-23, 18-25, 7-15 earlier in the day, with the two teams thus having identical records of four wins against two defeats.

But South Korea secured the top-four place necessary when Croatia scored a 26-28, 23-25, 25-20, 28-26, 15-9 victory over the Japanese.

Japan now has a 3-3 record and even if it beats South Korea in three sets on the final day on Sunday, the Koreans are unreachable with a better set ratio of 14-10 against Japan's 15- 11.

Japan, however, still kept a mathematical chance of overtaking China or Croatia. China will take on Argentina, while Croatia will play Italy in its bid to secure the one more win needed to qualify for the Olympics.

Italy, which secured its place in Sydney on Thursday, defeated winless Canada 25-12, 25-19, 25-16 to chalk up a sixth straight win in the eight-nation round robin, which is also the Asian qualifying round.

Italy secured top place to take the first ticket for Sydney. The top Asian country will qualify as Asian qualifiers, and the best two teams among the remaining six countries will get the last two places for the Olympics.

- AFP

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Section  : Sport
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