JIANGMEN, China, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea outlasted Qatar 3-2 in a five-set thriller here Thursday afternoon to secure their berth in the semifinals of the Asian Men's Tokyo Olympic volleyball qualification tournament.
Park Chul-woo had 18 points to lead five South Korean spikers in double scoring digits in the 25-18, 28-26, 22-25, 20-25 and 15-13 victory. Qatar had a 16-12 advantage in blocking, but South Korea were the better defensive team as they finished with 35 digs, compared to 26 for Qatar.
South Korea and Qatar both finished with a 2-1 win-loss in preliminary Group B, while Qatar ranked first after collecting one more 3-0 victory than South Korea.
Eight teams are competing in the qualifications with the winners to claim the only Olympic berth on offer.
Later on Thursday, China will play Iran to vie for the top place in Group A.
The teams will have a rest day on Friday with Qatar and South Korea to clash with the second and first finishers from Group A respectively in Saturday's semifinals.
