The Chinese women, who suffered a shock 2-3 defeat to South Korea on Thursday, needed just over an hour to score a 15-3, 15-8, 15-5 victory in the six-team Group F tournament in the Western Japanese city of Fukuoka.

China stood with two wins against one defeat in the group the same as South Korea, to trail all-conquering defending champions Cuba, who stood with three wins. China had a better set ratio of 8-5 than South Korea's 6-7.

Asian champions China haven't beaten Cuba in the past two years, but Chinese coach Lang Ping promised they would ``do our best'' tomorrow in a re-match of the Atlanta Olympic final against Cuba.

The top two teams of the group will advance to the knock-out semifinals to be held in Osaka. Italy had a 1-2 win-loss record and their chance for the medal round has already fizzled out.

The Cuban women,seeking their sixth straight big title, powered past Asian silver medallists South Korea 15-8, 15-2, 15-5 in the second match in Fukuoka.