China lose to Netherlands 2:3 in women's volleyball opener

Zhu Ting of China competes in the Women's preliminary competition of Volleyball between China and Netherlands in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug 6, 2016. China lost with 2:3. [Photo/Xinhua]

RIO DE JENEIRO -- Reigning World Cup champions and Olympic title favorites China lost to the Netherlands 3-2 here on Saturday in their opening match at the 2016 Rio Games women's volleyball competitions.

Lonneke Sloetjes scored game-high 26 points to lead the Dutch women to the 25-23, 21-25, 18-25, 25-22 and 15-13 victory in two hours and 11 minutes. Robin de Krujif and Anne Buijs added 15 and 14 points respectively.

"We played with very good discipline, everybody played very well today. It is an amazing start," said the Netherlands' Italian coach Giovanni Guidetti.