China beats Brazil to clinch Yeltsin Cup
- By Xue Kaiyuan
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China.org.cn, July 12, 2011
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Players of China celebrating victory after beating Brazil to claim the Yeltsin Cup. |
China's women's volleyball team beat Brazil to win the Boris Yeltsin International Cup Sunday night in a 3-2 (37-35, 19-25, 25-27, 25-23, 15-10) nail-biter in Yekaterinburg, Russia, ending a three-year losing streak to the gritty Brazilians and securing new coach Yu Juemin's first big championship with the team.
With Brazil's starting lineup in Mexico for the Pan American Cup, the Yeltsin Cup final gave Brazil a chance to battle test its young talent. The timing also presented the Chinese with the opportunity to steal a rare victory over their Brazilian nemesis, playing the same starting lineup that beat Russia to secure a spot in the semifinal.
After taking the first two sets, the Brazilians rallied to prevail in the third and fourth, leaving Chinese spectators to watch nervously as both teams prepared for the deciding fifth set. The closely contested decider dragged out until China finally broke through to clinch victory with a 37-35 championship point.
The win will surely boost the confidence of the Chinese team, who have suffered eight consecutive losses to Brazil since beating them 3-2 at the 2008 World Grand Prix in Ningbo. But given the performance of China's starting lineup against Brazil's backups, the Chinese have some work to do before they can expect regular victories against Brazil's starting squad.
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