Thais' chances go up in smoke after defeat to Italy

The latest loss in the women’s premier volleyball tournament has relegated Thailand to 10th position among the 20 participating teams. After six matches in the first two legs, Thailand collected only six points from two wins over Algeria and Cuba against four losses.

After three weeks of matches, all teams will be classified for the last time. Only the top five teams plus hosts Japan will qualify for the Finals in Sapporo between August 28 and September 1. Last year, Thailand advanced to the Finals for the second consecutive time and finished fourth.

After two weeks of competition in the World Grand Prix, China and Japan top the groups with 17 points, followed by Serbia with 16 points. Title-holders USA and Italy have 15 points. Olympic champions Brazil are trailing in sixth place with 14 points. Turkey and Bulgaria have 13 points while Russia are in ninth place with 12 points.

With the last three matches in the third week starting next weekend, all 20 teams make a final attempt to qualify. Thailand will return home to play matches in Pool L against defending two-time world champions Russia, Germany and Puerto Rico. The Bangkok meet will take place at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium from August 16 to 18.

Against the World Grand Champions Cup winners Italy on Sunday, Thailand made too many unforced mistakes and went down tamely in the first two games but fought gallantly in the third, which turned to be a thrilling see-saw battle. The Italians played calmly in the hotly contested game to win the match.

Thailand’s head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai praised the Ekaterinburg fans. “They supported us in every match we played. Italy were just too strong for our girls.

“It’s very difficult to win points from them. It’s a pity we were not successful with our playing system. We tried to come back in the third set. The experience the new players gained will be pretty useful in the future. I think they have learned a lot from the matches here. We have to improve our game at home.”

Thai captain Wilavan Apinyapong said, “We did our best. Italy were in top form and showed plenty of variety in their tactics.”

Hosts Russia pulled off a dramatic 3-1 (25-17 25-14 16-25 25-17) win over Cuba. Russia made a clean sweep of the three matches they played to collect nine points in Pool J. Italy had two wins against one loss to have six points, while Thailand beat Cuba to have three points. Cuba had no points.