Spikers expect to skewer Argentina

Thai head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai is bullish about his team’s chances. “Strong teams are taking part in this tournament, many of them have qualified for the Olympics. They are taking the event seriously and don’t want to leave any stone unturned before the London Games.
 “I want to give new and young players opportunities to gain experience to help them develop skill and confidence. It will not be easy to make it to the Finals. Only the top five teams plus hosts China qualify. We did it last year and hope for a repeat.

 “We are confident of beating Argentina and claiming three points with a 3-0 or 3-1 win. Last year, we beat them in straight sets at home. … It’s too early to talk about making it to the Finals in Ningbo at the end of this month.”

Asked about the Olympic Qualification Tournament, Kiattipong said, “We missed out on the Olympic Games. But, I’m proud of my team. They put up a spirited performance. We played some exciting games and some of them were touch-and-go affairs. Unfortunately, we lost and that ended our Olympic dream. We won’t give up. The show must go on and I’m upbeat that one day we will accomplish our Olympic goal.”

Thailand play Argentina today at 4.30pm Bangkok time, followed by the opening ceremony and the second match between hosts China and Puerto Rico.

Sixteen teams including two-time champions USA, Olympic winners Brazil, World Cup champs Italy and Thailand are taking part in the 20th World Grand Prix. Three weeks of preliminaries will decide which five teams (plus China) will head to the Finals from June 27 to July 1.