Hanoi gearing up for Asian women's U23 volleyball c'ships

HANOI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The third Asian women's U23 volleyball championship will take place in Hanoi from July 13 to 21, with 14 countries and regions, including China, set to take part, Vietnam's Volleyball Federation said on Thursday.

Vietnam, New Zealand and Turkmenistan are in Group A; Thailand, the DPRK, Australia and the Maldives are in Group B; China, Chinese Taipei and India are in Group C; and Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Macao are in Group D. Iran were slated to be in Group C but withdrew from the tournament.

China topped the first Asian women's U23 volleyball championship in 2015 in the Philippines, while Japan were crowned at the second edition in 2017 in Thailand.