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Heo Soo-bong, the South Korean national team's cannonballer

South Korea's men's volleyball team, looking to win its first Asian Men's Volleyball Championship title in 20 years, will meet arch-rivals China in the quarterfinals.

China defeated India 3-2 in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Men's Asian Championship at the Al Ghadir Stadium in Urmia, Iran, on Wednesday night.

South Korea, who had earlier qualified for the quarterfinals with a narrow 3-2 win over Indonesia, will face China in the semifinals on Thursday at 9:45 p.m. as the Chinese knocked out India.

Both South Korea and China were on the brink of elimination as they struggled against lesser-rated opponents.

South Korea, ranked 27th in the world by FIVB, struggled against 63rd-ranked Indonesia, who had match point at one point in the fifth set.

World No. 26 China also went back-and-forth with No. 72 India in a full-set thriller.

The six-team tournament is a valuable "practice run" for the Korean men's volleyball team as they look to bounce back with a gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou next month.

If Korea defeats China, they will play the quarterfinals at 9:45 p.m. on Friday.

If they lose, they will move on to the fifth-place match at 0:15 a.m. on the 26th.

The last time the Korean men's volleyball team won the Asian Championship was in 2003 in China. They last competed in Japan in 2021, finishing in eighth place.

China's hard-fought win over India

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