Asian official praises Korat's organisation
Thailand's crowning moment in the 17th Asian Senior Women's Volleyball Championship, when they beat the world No 3 and the London Olympic bronze medallists to capture their second title, has thrown up another winner - Nakhon Ratchasima.
The town staged a remarkable championship and came in for high praise from officials for the professional way it conducted the matches and handled the rambunctious crowd.
Chatchai Hall, the competition venue, could hold only 4,800 spectators. It is a world-class arena that has hosted several major sporting events including the FIVB Girls’ Under-18 Worlds in July.
Despite the distance, 10 kilometres from downtown, thousands of fans braving rain converged on the venue to cheer their team and get a close glimpse of their favourite players on the final day of the top-flight competition. The organisers, on their part, pulled off a miracle of sorts by creating space for 7,000 fans to witness the match inside the arena.
Wei Jizhong, the honorary life president of FIVB and AVC, raved about Nakhon Ratchasima’s success in hosting the event. “If you want to know whether a tournament is a success or not, you just have to look at the number of spectators in the venue.
You could see here in Chatchai Hall. The spectators were full to the seating capacity. On the final day, spectators made a very long queue to buy tickets for the match,” Jizhong said.
“In terms of the staging of the tournament, we, the AVC control committee and the local organisers had no problem working together. The organisers were ready to cooperate and assist us in all aspects. I must say that the 17th edition here in Nakhon Ratchasima was a remarkable success.”
Thailand, the 2009 Asian winners, by scoring a 25-22 25-18 25-17 victory over heavyweights Japan secured a place in the six-team FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in Japan in November.
Also by advancing to the semi-finals, Thailand secured a berth in the FIVB World Grand Prix next year. They will get a chance to compete in the AVC Cup next year where only the top eight teams from the continent participate.
Thai women won two individual awards. Wilavan Apinyapong was named Most Valuable Player, and Nootsara Tomkom took the Best Setter award. After celebrating their success Thai players spent the next three hours walking from Chatchai Hall to their rooms at the Ratchaphruk Grand Hotel, a distance of 10 kilometres, to fulfil the vow of team libero Wanna Buakaew, a deeply religious player, who sought divine help to beat Japan in the quarter-finals.
Five of the Thai players – Pleumjit Thinkaow, Wilavan Apinyapong, Onuma Sittirak, Wanna Buakaew and Nootsara Tomkom – will leave Thailand for the Azerbaijan Super League next month. They will return early in November for intensive training in preparation for the World Grand Champions Cup in Japan.
Meanwhile, South Korea delighted their supporters by producing a magnificent come-from-behind 3-2 (13-25 17-25 25-21 25-23 15-11) victory over title-holders and 12-time champions China in the third-place play-off.
Earlier, Kazakhstan claimed the fifth place after coming from behind to beat Vietnam 18-25 18-25 30-28 25-21 15-6.
In the 7th-8th place play-off, Taiwan proved too strong for Iran, brushing off their less-experienced rivals in comfortable straight sets 25-9 25-16 25-17.
