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GV PAN EXTERIOR OF Yoyogi gymnasium in Tokyo.
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LV Chinese (in blue) and Soviet (in red) women teams filing onto court.
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GV Teams shaking hands under net. PULL BACK TO LV OF teams and, officials.
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GV & PAN USSR serving and China winning first set 15-4.
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SV Soviet coaches on sideline watching game.
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GV OF Play, Soviets losing a point.
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GV & PAN China serving and Soviets winning a point.
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GV & PAN Soviets serving and China winning point.
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GV Scoreboard shows China leading third set 10-0.
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GV & PAN Soviets serving and China winning point.
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GV PAN China serving and winning point.
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GV China serving and winning match. Players congratulating each other.
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SPORT: VOLLEYBALL
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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: INTRODUCTION: Political differences were obviously forgotten when China and the Soviet Union met at the third women's eight-nation World Cup Volleyball Tournament in Tokyo on Sunday (8 November).China defeated the Soviet Union 15-4, 16-4, 15-0 in the match on the second day of the 21-day tournament.

SYNOPSIS: The tournament opened at Tokyo's Yoyogi gymnasium, but other games were held throughout Japan.Teams from the US, Brazil, Cuba, the Soviet Union, Europe, the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea took part.The Chinese team in blue and the Soviets in red met for the first time in recent years.

Sino-Soviet encounter was keenly contested before a large crowd.The Chinese players took the first set 15-4 in only nine minutes.When the score stood at 14-4 in favour of the Chinese team, the Soviet side's coach committed a technical error, and the referee awarded the final point to the Chinese.The Chinese won their first game against Brazil 3-0, and the Soviet Union, the 1980 Olympic champions, lost to Japan by the same score.

The Soviet coaches, watching the game from the sidelines, were heartened when their team took an early lead of 9-0 in the second set.Undaunted, the Chinese side fought back point by point to level the score at 9-9.It was during this action-packed set, that the Chinese team's coaches decided to change some players.With instructions from their coaches to strengthen blockings, the Chinese players stormed back to win the set 16-14.The Soviet team's spin-laden serves seemed to confuse the Chinese for a while.

But China dominated the third set; Soviet opposition simply was not strong enough.

By winning the third and final set 15-0, China won the match in straight sets.They now have a record four points from two matches in the tournament.