China has ended its Asiad volleyball trip with a defeat to South Korea in the men's bronze medal match and a silver grabbed earlier by the women's side.

This is the second consecutive time that China has not secured a podium finish in the Asian Games men's volleyball and the first time for the women's team has failed to win gold since 1998.

China lost both arch rivals Japan and South Korea in the men's competition, which was a mentally heavy blow.

"Our players did not properly cope with the stress during the games and thus failed to play to the best of their capabilities," China coach Xie Guochen said.

Iran, who won the men's title, proved that they have the capability to fight for honor at bigger international competitions. "China has lagged far behind Iran in every aspect," Xie said after his team lost to the west Asian team.

"We tried very hard to play, but the Iranian team made it very difficult," Zhong Weijun of China said.

A major problem now facing the Chinese team is a lack of qualified youngsters, said Xie.

But situation for Chinese women's volleyball is less critical.

China's shot at the fifth consecutive gold in the Asiad women's volleyball slipped away with a defeat to South Korea, but for these second stringers of the national volleyball team, they have harvested far more than just a silver medal.

Since the 4th AVC Cup for Women earlier this year, in which South Korea lost to China, these young players have hardly encountered any setbacks.

"As a result, they are sometimes overwhelmed by victories and have too much confidence," head coach Xu Jiande said.

Missing the gold medal came as "a very good lesson" for the young players, Xu said, stressing that it was time that they realized their own weak points and strived to live up to the real qualifications for the national team.

With the first stringers of the Chinese national team recently securing a berth in the top six at the 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, it is not proper to determine China's ranking inside Asia based on one single defeat in the Asiad. Enditem

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