Spikers target win over Puerto Rico in opener
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Nagoya, Japan - Thailand enter the second leg of the women's World Grand Prix volleyball preliminaries today at the Park Arena Komaki confident of a win against Puerto Rico, a team they beat just a week ago.
Thailand last week brushed aside Argentina and Puerto Rico before going down to hosts China to finish second in Pool A in Macau. Today, they start their Pool F campaign against Puerto Rico, holding a 3-1 head-to-head record over the world No 19 Central Americans.
Thailand will also face world No 9 Dominican Republic as well as hosts Japan, who beat them in straight sets in Olympic Qualifying in Tokyo last month.
Among the three rivals, Dominica are the only team Thailand have never beaten. A win against the Dominicans tomorrow would be a great leap forward for Thai volleyball. Japan, the world No 3 who beat Thailand in the 5th-6th play-off at last year’s World Grand Prix, are also a strong team to be reckoned with.
Thai head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai said his team is in good shape for the battles ahead. “We are ready to take on any team. My girls have been training hard and we will push ourselves to the limit in every match.”
Kiattipong is confident of a win against Puerto Rico. “It will be difficult to beat them in straight sets. They look much stronger this week. It all depends on the form of our players. If they make too many unforced errors, anything could happen.
“As coaches, we will give tips and boost players’ morale. But it’s up to them to perform.”
Today, Thailand take on Puerto Rico at 3.20pm local time (1.20pm Bangkok time), while hosts Japan challenge Dominican Republic.
