India reaches semifinals of U18 Asian Boys' Volleyball Championships for first time since 2010

The Indian team, on Saturday, qualified for the semifinals of the ongoing Asian U18 Boys' Volleyball Championships. The Indian boys defeated Chinese Taipei 3-1 in the quarterfinals to make their way into the top four. This win also helped them qualify for the upcoming 2023 U19 Volleyball World Championships next year.

India started off well in the quarterfinal clash and looked to be cruising to seal the semifinal berth as they took the first two sets 25-19 and 25-14 respectively with ease.

Staring at an exit from the title contention, the Chinese Taipei colts bounced back hard in the third set. Though at one point it seemed as if the Indians would wipe off their opponents in straight sets, Chinese Taipei fought back to take the third set 27-25.

That, however, seemed to be a timely jolt to the Indians, who left no room for error in the fourth set, and pocketed it 25-13 to seal the match 3-1.

This is for the first time since 2010 that India has qualified for the semifinals of the Asian U18 Boys Volleyball Championships. They had finished fourth then after losing 1-3 to South Korea in the bronze medal playoff.

India has previously won the Asian U18 Boys' Volleyball Championships title in 2003 when they hosted the event in Vishakhapatnam. They also had a runners-up finish in 2007 apart from bagging bronze medals in 2005 and 2008.