The Asian Women's Championship began in Tianjin with a historic victory for Iran and expected clean successes for two of the big favorites – Japan and defending champions Thailand. Three matches were played on the first day, and the big surprise came in the opening match, where the Iranian women overturned Chinese Taipei.
The stakes in the tournament are serious. The Asian champion will receive a direct quota for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, and the top three teams will qualify for the World Championship in 2027.

Iran overturned Chinese Taipei and recorded a historic victory

Iran started their participation with a 3:1 (16:25, 27:25, 25:19, 25:14) win against Chinese Taipei in Group A. The beginning in no way suggested how the match would end – Chinese Taipei controlled the first set and won it convincingly with 25:16. However, Iran stayed in the match and snatched the extremely important second set with 27:25. This changed the course of the match, and in the next two sets, the Iranian women were already categorical – 25:19 and 25:14.
Elahe Pour Saleh was the top scorer in the match with 25 points. The success also has historical value – this is the first victory of the Iranian women's national team over Chinese Taipei at an Asian Championship. It also brought the Iranian women 8.87 points for the world ranking, with which the team crossed the 100-point mark for the first time and climbed to 41st place.

Champions Thailand left no chances for Australia

Defending champions Thailand started with a convincing victory over Australia – 3:0 (25:15, 25:15, 25:18) in Group B. The Thai women imposed their rhythm from the very first set and controlled the match with more effective attack and pressure from the serve. The first two sets ended with an identical 25:15, as Australia failed to find enough consistency to put their opponent under serious pressure.
The Australians offered the most serious resistance in the third set, but even then Thailand gradually asserted their superiority and finished the match with 25:18. The winners finished the match with 47 attack points. Sasipaporn Janthawisut was the top scorer with 19 points, Pimpichaya Kokram added 12, and Chatchu-on Moksri also finished with 12. For Australia, O'Dea scored the most – 11 points.

Japan used all 14 of its volleyball players against Hong Kong

Japan also started without losing a set and defeated Hong Kong (China) with 3:0 (25:9, 25:15, 25:12) in Group C. The Japanese women practically decided the first set with two big runs. With Seki serving, they scored five consecutive points, and a little later, with Yukiko Wada serving, they added another seven in a row. Yoshino Sato ended the set with an ace for 25:9.
In the second set, Hong Kong managed to be more competitive and at one point reduced their deficit to three points. At 17:13, however, Japan made a run of six consecutive points and pulled away again to close the set with 25:15. In the third set, Hong Kong managed to take the lead for the first time at the beginning, but the Japanese women quickly regained control and reached 25:12.
Japan's coach Ferhat Akbaş used all 14 players registered for the match. Yoshino Sato was the top scorer with 17 points – 14 from attack, 2 blocks, and 1 ace. Yukiko Wada added 14 points, and Mayu Ishikawa – 8. Japan had a huge superiority in attack points – 42:14, and also won the blocking ratio with 10:9 and aces with 8:5.
Thus, after the first three matches, Iran delivered the big surprise at the start, while Japan and Thailand confirmed their status as two of the main contenders for the title and the Olympic quota.