China women volleyballers beat Serbia to start medal hunt

LONDON - China made a solid first step forward to their medal dream by upsetting Serbia 3-1 in the Olympic women's volleyball tournament on Saturday, when Chinese top spiker Wang Yimei returned to court after being out for three months with an ankle injury.

The Chinese, champions in the 2004 Athens Games and bronze medal winners in Beijing, rallied to win 16-25, 25-18, 25-13, 25-12.

Besides Serbia, China is also bundled with defending champions Brazil, world's No 1 United States, Turkey and South Korea.

Italy, Russia, Japan, Algeria, the Dominican Republic and host Britain make up the other six-team pool. The top four teams emerge from each pool into the quarter-finals.

Earlier in the morning, Japan secured an easy 25-15, 25-14, 25-7 over Algeria in the tournament opener.

China's Zhang Xian (2nd L) celebrates with teammates Xu Yunli, Hui Ruoqi, Zhang Lei and Wang Yimei (L-R) during their women's Group B volleyball match against Serbia at the London 2012 Olympic Games at Earls Court in London July 28, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]