May 22, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429

TOKYO, May 21: Serbia and Japan moved to within a step away from winning tickets to the Olympic women’s volleyball when they coasted to fourth straight wins in the final qualifying round on Wednesday.

World bronze medallists Serbia whipped Thailand 25-16, 25-23, 25-15, while Japan outplayed Dominican Republic 25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 25-21 to remain unbeaten in the eight-team round robin competition.

The winners of the tournament, along with the best-placed Asian nation and the two other best-placed teams from the remaining six, qualify for the Beijing Games in August.

Poland trailed them with a 2-2 win-loss record, followed by Thailand, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico with 1-3 and Kazakhstan 0-4.

The tournament combined the Asian qualifying round.

Kazakhstan, meanwhile, were almost knocked out of competition when they suffered a 25-19, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13 defeat to Puerto Rico in their fourth straight loss.

South Korea suffered another setback when they crashed to two-time European champions Poland 25-16, 25-19, 25-16.

—AFP