JAKARTA, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese men's national volleyball team settled for the ninth place at the Asian Games here after beating Saudi Arabia on Friday.
After an unexpected loss to Vietnam, China had a narrow victory over Thailand and barely made it to the round of 12 after beating Sri Lanka.
Then after losing to defending champions Iran in a tough game and later defeated by Pakistan, China had to fight for the ninth place against Saudi Arabia.
"It might be our worst result in the history of the Asian Games, but it's just a starting point, and we will learn from this and do better in the future," said China coach Shen Qiong.
The game against Saudi Arabia was a lopsided one, with China winning in straight sets within an hour.
The scores of the three sets were 25-15, 25-10 and 25-17, respectively.
China opened the first set with a 6-2 lead and then enlarged the margin to end the set 25-15.
The Chinese team continued the dominance in the second set and a string of nine points at the end helped China win 25-10.
In the third set, the desperate Saudi Arabians struggled to come back but failed to turn the tide, and the set ended 25-17.
China's young blocker Peng Shikun topped the scoring chart with 16 points, followed by Li Liye with 12 points and Li Yuanbo with 10 points.
None of the Saudi Arabian players scored in double figures.
