Thailand rout Australia, thrill the crowd
Thailand entertained more than 5,000 fans at the Chatchai Hall with their splendid performance while defeating Australia in straight games in the 17th Asian Senior Women's Volleyball Championship yesterday.
After going down to Kazakhstan in the curtain-raiser match on Friday, Thailand yesterday revived their fortunes in the competition by thrashing Australia 25-16 25-17 25-14 for their first victory in Pool A.
With the victory, Thailand, the Asian champions in 2009, badly need to beat Mongolia in today’s last match in the round-robin to ensure a berth among the last eight teams. Only top two teams from each pool will make it to the quarter-finals. The remaining teams will be relegated to play in the 9th-16th classification round.
Thailand, who beat Australia in straight games in the World Championship Qualification Asian Zone Final Round in Komaki, Japan, last week, made their intentions clear by fielding a strong line-up led by Onuma Sittirak, Pleumjit Thinkaow and Wilavan Apinyapong.
Thailand took the first two games without much trouble. Australia, led by powerful attacker Rachel Rourke, got their act together in the third but made crucial unforced mistakes and lost the game.
“We tried hard to win because every point and every set is very important for us in this tournament, as it determines our chances of advancing into the next round. Besides, winning will enhance our confidence,” Thai head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai said.
“Our loss to Kazakhstan means, there is a likelihood of meeting South Korea in the quarter-finals. Everyone knows that beating them is not easy. We have to play our best and try to beat both Japan and South Korea in our next matches.”
Australia’s head coach Pauline Manser said the team was very nervous. “It was a good match. We played according to the plan. Though we played Thailand in Komaki last week, the girls were very nervous. Now, we know our limits. We take on Kazakhstan who are as tall as our girls. I think, it would be a good match.”
Elsewhere, South Korea crushed Sri Lanka 3-0 (25-8 25-6 25-7); Kazakhstan thrashed Mongolia 3-0 (25-22 25-16 25-9); Taiwan tamed Myanmar 3-0 (25-10 25-10 25-17).
