Battling Thai women pipped at the post for fourth place by resurgent South Korea
World No 10 Thailand could not survive Kim Yeon-koung's onslaughts and went down fighting to South Korea in the third-place play-off at the 16th Asian Women's Volleyball Championship in Taiwan yesterday.
The Thai women were outwitted in a hotly-contested five-set thriller 25-22 24-26 25-23 25-27 13-15.
The result seemed like a repeat of the semi-final script when the Thai women suffered a disappointing 2-3 loss to world No 4 and last year's World Championship bronze medallists Japan.
Against the Koreans, to whom they had lost 1-3 in the Pool F second round, Thailand fielded the same line-up that won them their maiden Asian crown in 2009 in Vietnam. They included the powerful Onuma Sittirak, Pleumjit Thinkaow and Wilavan Apinyapong.
The Thai squad, attempting to forget the bitter loss to Japan in the semi-finals, took the close first set 25-22.
The Koreans, spearheaded by Kim Yeon-koung, who stood 192cm tall, hit back to win the second set 26-24. Thailand maintained their poise, played more consistently and snatched the third set 25-23. One set away from victory, they ran into a formidable Korean fightback led by Kim who helped them tie set scores by winning the fourth 27-25.
In the do-or-die decider, South Korea led 5-2 initially before Kim became a scoring machine for the team, puncturing the Thai defence with her exceptional spikes to stretch the lead to 10-7. Thailand did not give up easily. They bounced back and levelled scores at 13-13, but the Koreans proved steadier and more consistent to win the two crucial points, which helped them finish third.
Despite the loss, Thailand won berths at next year's World Grand Prix and the Asia/World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Japan. They lost only the ticket to contest the World Cup in Japan this November.
The Thai team are due to arrive Bangkok late tonight. They will leave again on October 6 for Doha to compete in the FIVB World Women's Club Volleyball Championship in Qatar from October 8 to 14. There, they will compete under the Chang banner. Last year, Thailand, consecutive three-time Asian Club champions, finished joint fifth in the six-team tournament.
Meanwhile, later yesterday China and Japan were due to battle for the Asian crown.
Rankings of teams that have completed their matches: 3 South Korea; 4 Thailand; 5 Taiwan; 6 North Korea; 7 Vietnam; 8 Iran; 9 Kazakhstan; 10 Australia; 11 India; 12 Sri Lanka; 13 Indonesia; 14 Turkmenistan
