Thailand brush aside Puerto Rico

World No 12 Thailand fielded a strong line-up of players, who won them the 2009 Asian crown in Vietnam. Powerful Wilavan Apinyapong, Onuma Sittirak, Pleumjitr Thinkaow, Amporn Hyapha, Malika Kanthong, Nootsara Tomkom and the two liberos Piyanut Pannoy and Wanna Buakaew came out firing and the poor Puerto Ricans wilted under pressure.

Fresh from thrashing Argentina 25-18 25-9 25-22 in the curtain-raiser of the world’s premier women’s volleyball competition, Thailand yesterday were given a tough fight by the formidable Puerto Ricans in the first two sets. The Thais showed true grit and played consistently, giving little away to their rivals, who found scoring difficult.

Puerto Rico put on an aggressive display in the third and gave some nervous moments to the Thais at 20-23. Pluemjitr rallied the Thais, producing a lightning-fast spike for a vital 24-22 lead. An erratic spike from Stephanie Enright ended her team’s determined challenge against the in-form Thais. Thailand have six points in the Pool A.

 “Many of my players suffered from fatigue, but they tried hard to win this crucial match. I’m glad with the win, but we still need to improve on some tactics such as retrieving and attacking at the net,” Thai head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai said.

 “My players were damn good with fast spikes and setting. It was beyond my expectation. Young players got excited in the closing moments of the match. I hope they’ve obtained some valuable experience by playing in this world-class competition.

“We are second to China both tactically and technically. They are much taller, their blocks are solid and their spiking is something spectacular. It’s hard to hit through those tall blockers. However, I badly want my players to do their best regardless of winning the match against China. Winning or losing is part of the game. We just have to try our best,” he said.

Today, the final day of the Pool A matches, will see Argentina take on Puerto Rico and Thailand go up against indomitable China.