Kazakhstan's women's volleyball team has clinched an early spot in the knockout stage of the Asian Games in Japan, defeating the Philippines 3:1 (27:29, 26:24, 25:23, 25:19), infohub.kz reports.

The win in the opening match immediately secured a quarterfinal berth for Askar Shalkibekov's squad — a quirk of the volleyball tournament format at the Asian Games. Groups A and B feature three teams each, while the other two groups have four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage.

The favorites in Kazakhstan's trio — China — beat the Philippines 3:0 (25:18, 25:22, 25:8) the day before. That meant the Kazakh women needed only to beat the Philippines by any score to reach the knockout stage.

The task did not look impossible, but the Kazakhs had to work hard for it. After a nervous start to the first set, they pulled ahead 17:13, then squandered the lead and lost in a tense deuce battle featuring numerous set points traded both ways — 27:29.

The second set followed a similar script. Kazakhstan led 14:7, but it ended in an extremely nerve-wracking finish. At 23:23, the team managed to take two points in a row. The third set repeated the story once again: a 13:7 lead for the Kazakhs was erased to 19:19. After once more testing their fans' nerves, Kazakhstan moved ahead — 25:23.

Among the opponents, opposite hitter Alisa Solomon of Japan's Osaka stood out. The Kazakh women spent a long time searching for an answer to her subtle, intelligent volleyball. In the fourth set, having adjusted to it, they played at full strength — 25:19. An important victory in 1 hour 55 minutes — 3:1.

ASIAN GAMES 2026. Volleyball. Women. Group A: Japan — Nepal 3:0. Group B: China — Philippines 3:0, Kazakhstan — Philippines 3:1. Group C: Thailand — Mongolia 3:0, Chinese Taipei — Kyrgyzstan 3:0. Group D: Vietnam — Qatar 3:0, South Korea — Hong Kong 3:0, South Korea — Qatar 3:0.

As of now, Japan, China and Kazakhstan have secured knockout-stage berths. Kazakhstan's group rivals China, the reigning champions, have won the Asian Games nine times. Hosts Japan have finished first five times. Kazakhstan's volleyball team owns bronze from the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou: in the third-place match, the Kazakhs beat North Korea 3:0 (25:21, 25:16, 25:22).

The 20th Summer Asian Games in Japan will officially open on September 19. The multi-sport event, featuring athletes from 45 countries, will award 460 sets of medals: 217 in men's events, 204 in women's and 39 in mixed events. Competitions will be held in 68 disciplines across 41 sports.

Kazakhstan will be represented by 559 athletes at the 2026 Asian Games. The men's basketball team, having lost three matches, has already finished its run in Japan.