HANOI, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- China lost to Thailand 1-3 here on Sunday to come second in a thrilling final match of the Asian women's volleyball championship this year.

    In the opening set, the two teams started encouragingly. China took an early lead. But Thailand, ranking third at the previous Asian meet, proved their strength by quickly equaling the scores at 4-4 and followed China closely in each point. However, China's spikes were more powerful in the last minutes of the first set. It ended the hotly-contest set with 25-20.

    Thailand regrouped and bounced back gallantly in the second set. It performed superbly and led 5-0 in the very early minutes of the set. The Thai team kept their winning momentum and stretched their lead to 16-8 in the following minutes. China tried hard to fight back, but it failed. Thailand won the second set 25-19.

    In the third set, Thailand, boosted by its win from the previous set, again scored two points first. China seriously struck back, tied the scores and widened the gap to 8-5. The game became much more exciting when Thailand regained their upper-hand from the first few minutes and took a commanding 21-14. China struggled hard to counter-attack its aggressive opponents, but its efforts were just in vain. Thailand again finished the set 25-19.

    The two teams poured everything they had in the fourth set. They competed fiercely for every point. However, Thailand played better and decided the final match with a 25-23 win in the closing set. It became the champion for the first time ever in history.

    The championship, starting from Sept. 5, drew the participation of 14 countries and regions. This is the 15th gathering of Asian women volleyball teams since the championship was born in 1975.