Vietnam beat Belgium to win bronze medal at world volleyball championship

Vietnam secured a remarkable victory over Belgium, who are 21 places above them in the world rankings, to secure bronze at the 2024 FIVB Ladies’ Volleyball Challenger Cup on Sunday.

Vietnam’s star volleyball player Thanh Thuy and her teammates faced Belgium after beating the Philippines in the first round of the four-day competition, and then losing 0-3 to the Czech Republic in the qualifiers.

Vietnam, ranked 34th in the world, started the match without hesitation and somehow managed to unsettle their European opponents, who are ranked 13th.

The Vietnamese team maintained their lead for a long time, before levelling the score at 21-21 and winning the first set again 25-23.

Belgium won the next set and Vietnam won the third, only to be sure to enter the final fourth set and also win.

The bronze medal is Vietnam’s biggest achievement at the FIVB Challenger Cup.

The Czech Republic won the competition by defeating Puerto Rico.