Asian champion China secured a berth at next year's Athens Olympics after defeating the United States 25-20, 20-25, 24-26, 25-20, 15-11 in the fourth round of the women's volleyball World Cup on Thursday but host Japan's hopes of a ticket to Greece took a dent after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil.
Japan produced a spirited display and twice led in the second and third sets but a series of costly errors allowed Brazil back into the game before it ran out 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 winners to move second in the table with an 8-1 record. Japan has six wins and lies sixth in the 12-team standings, one win behind the U.S. and Italy, which was beaten 3-0 by Olympic champion Cuba. Cuba is fifth with six wins.