Chinese spikers hold off Serbia for gold

Rio de Janeiro: China’s young women’s volleyball team overcame a surging Serbian side on Saturday in four sets to take their country’s third Olympic gold medal in the sport. Serbia was competing for the first time for an Olympic medal and had beaten China in the preliminary round, but the Asian powerhouse prevailed in the final by 19-25 25-17 25-22 25-23. The United States won bronze earlier on Saturday after beating the Netherlands, a consolation for the world’s top-ranked team in their pursuit of an elusive gold.