Ningbo, China, August 11, 2019 - Argentina booked their ticket to the Tokyo Olympics after a thrilling 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 18-25, 15-9) victory over China in Pool F of FIVB Tokyo Men’s Volleyball Qualification 2019 at Beilun Sports and Arts Centre Sunday night.
China coach Raul Lozano: “First of all, I would like to congratulate team Argentina for their entrance to Tokyo. I think our team have made a great progress in many aspects. The main problem is that we have a lack of experience of international major events. There is only one ticket to Tokyo from our pool with the 6th ranked Canada and 7th ranked Argentina. I think we played very well and there was no big gap between us and them. We missed two match points yesterday and today we failed to make it in the tie-breaker. Although Argentina were already qualified after three sets, we still kept matched with Argentina till the end. In the first set, we outplayed Argentina, but in the second set we made some mistakes in the reception and trapped ourselves in a difficult situation. In fact, I think both sides were quite equal in the first three sets, but Argentina prevailed thanks to their experience. They have three players from the champion clubs of the Italian, French and Brazilian leagues, and some other experienced players from top leagues in Europe. Individually, we cannot match up with team Argentina at all, but we, as a team, matched up with them today. So I would like to congratulate my players for their performance. But I am not satisfied with the result since we lost the match and did not get qualified. We had chances but we failed to catch them. Anyway, I think my team are talented and have potential. I am optimistic for their future.”
Argentina coach Marcelo Mendez: “I am very happy to win this match and to get the ticket to Tokyo. It is great for me to lead the team to Tokyo.”
China middle blocker Zhang Zhejia: “I think, compared to top teams like Argentina, we are still inferior in mentality, skills and tactics with crucial balls especially after 20 points. This is what we should improve in the future. Anyway, we have fought our best and there is no regret. I will try my best with my teammates for the Asian Qualification in January next year.”
“We had some chances today but we failed to catch them. My teammates played very well today, but in the third set, I did not score the crucial points.” said Jiang Chuan, who scored a match-high 27 points for China.
Argentina captain Luciano De Cecco: “We are very happy to take the ticket to Tokyo. We played very well during the whole tournament. Now we shall go to rest and enjoy.”