Among the eight matches, the most thrilling was the clash between the Hanoi T&T and Hai Duong women's teams. Hai Duong’s key player Bui Ngoc Lan earned a 3-1 victory over Tran Mai Ngoc from Hanoi to help her team take a 1-0 lead after the opening match. However, Phuong Linh levelled 1-1 for the team from the capital city, after narrowly beating Hai Duong’s Dinh Thi Hang 3-2 in the second match.
Dinh Thi Hue again restored Hai Duong lead with a 3-1 victory over Thu Huong, but once again the clash went back to a level position after Hanoi’s Tran Mai Ngoc won 3-0 against Dinh Thi Hang from Hai Duong, forcing the two teams to enter the fifth match to decide the winners.
In the last match, Hai Duong’s Bui Ngoc Lan started well, leading 2-0, but, due to poor psychology, Phuong Linh equalised 2-2 for Hanoi and then came from behind to win 3-2.
After the "marathon" lasting for 185 minutes, Hanoi T&T beat strong rivals Hai Duong to win a ticket to the semi-finals. They will next play Tien Giang, who beat Ho Chi Minh City team No. 2 3-1 in the other quarterfinal match the same day.
In the four quarterfinal matches in the women’s team event, only the Ho Chi Minh City team, with the nation’s most highly rated players Dieu Khanh, My Trang and Thanh Thu, won a humiliating 3-0 win over Hanoi. Without key player Nguyen Thi Nga the Hanoi team could not defend the third place position they won last year.
The last women's team to qualify for the semifinals were the Police team after winning 3-1 against the Army team No. 1.
 |
National team member Duc Tuan and his Hai Duong teammates are the top favourites to win the men's team title.
In the men's team event, the title favourites, Hanoi team No. 1, beat the Army team No. 2 with a score of 3-1 to progress to the semis. In the next round, Hanoi 1 will meet familiar opponents Hanoi T&T No. 1 team. Due to the draw results, two teams of Hanoi T&T had to meet in the quarterfinals, but the Hanoi T&T team No. 2 decided to withdraw to in the quarterfinal match last night to help their teammates in the No. 1 team keep their form.
In the other tense quarterfinal match, the Army team No. 1 won 3-1 against Ho Chi Minh City team.
In the men’s team event, Hai Duong showed the most impressive performance with a straight 3-0 win against hosts Khanh Hoa. The result shows that Hai Duong with a strong and uniform squad would be the top favourites for the title in the men’s team event. They will meet Army team No. 1 in the semis, scheduled for Wednesday morning.
The two men's and women's team finals will be held simultaneously from 7 pm this evening.
