NINGBO, China, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Dominican Republic overpowered China 3-1 here on Saturday, seizing a competitive position in striving for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games women's volleyball tickets in the Pool A.
After its 25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 25-14 victory over China, the Dominican side now has 15 points from five victories and one loss, which ties leader Serbia in the pool.
The Dominican Republic, ranked ninth in the world, consecutively upset the third-ranked Serbia and sixth-ranked China in the Olympic qualifiers.
"It's a crazy match, especially in this stadium considered as the temple of the Chinese women's volleyball team. We are happy to take the victory, and it's our honor to overcome China at this place," said the Dominican team's head coach Kwiek Marcos.
Also on Saturday, Serbia took a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-20) win over the Netherlands, while Canada smashed Mexico 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-17).
Now the Netherlands has 12 points from four wins and two losses, ranked the third in Pool A. Also with four wins and two losses, the Canadian team is ranked at the fourth place with 11 points.
China now dropped to the fifth place, earning 11 points with just three wins.
As there is just one round left in Pool A, the ranking table shows China and Canada's hopes of directly entering the Paris 2024 Olympics have been eliminated.
Serbia, the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands are the three competitors left for the two Olympic tickets.
The results of Sunday's matches will be decisive as the Pool's leader Serbia is going to be challenged by China, while the Dominican side and the Netherlands' team are set to meet face to face.
