2020 Men's Olympic Volleyball Qualifiers: India knocked out following three-set loss against Korea
The Indian men's volleyball team's hopes of qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics came to a screeching halt as a 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 loss to Korea is certain to see them missing out on a spot in the semifinals of the ongoing 2020 Men's Olympic Volleyball Qualifiers taking place in Jiangmen, China.
India came into this competition on the back of a three-set loss to Qatar and needed to win this match against Korea to remain in contention for a spot in the last four.
GS Akhin's all-round performance was yet again a talking point as the blocker was in fine form and finished with 10 points (6 attack, 4 block) while Amit top-scored for the side with 13 points.
Karnataka-based blocker Ashwal Rai was particularly impressive in the third set as he picked up six points and finished with a total of nine points, proving his worth as an all-rounder in the side.
For Korea, Jiseok Jung scored 12 points, while captain Yungsuk Shin contributed with 10 points and were the chief architects of Korea's win.
With two wins from as many games, India are placed at the bottom of the points table and have no chance of finishing in the top two, while Korea will need to win their final match against Qatar and hope for Australia to lose against India in order to make the last four.
India to face off against Australia for pride
With India out of the race for a place in the knockouts, they will look to gather a lot of experience when they face off against Australia in their final league stage match tomorrow, 9th January 2020.