Volleyball fans should respect decision of the TVA
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The volleyball association's decision to send two national teams to two very prestigious tournaments, to be held almost simultaneously this year, has ruffled the feelings of some fans.
Call it a scheduling difficulty, lack of coordination, or both, FIVB, the world volleyball body, is conducting the World Championship from September 23 to October 12 in Italy while the Asian Games will be held in Incheon, South Korea, from September 19 to October 4. The victims of this strange overlap are Asian teams and the team most likely to be affected by this “goof up” is Thailand.
The national team had a remarkable season last year. Besides capturing the Asian crown at home, the Thai team defied odds and finished finish fifth at the FIVB World Grand Champions’ Cup with a rare victory over two-time world champions Russia.
Thailand has participated in the world meet three times with 13th position the best result in 2010. In the Asiad, they were never able to win a medal. Their best efforts were in 1986, 1998 and 2006 when they secured fourth. In Guangzhou, China, four years ago, they finished a disappointing fifth.
The Thailand Volleyball Association, for its part, made a PMI – plus, minus, interesting – assessment and decided to send the first team to the Asiad and the second string team to the world meet. The decision sparked a hot debate among die-hard fans, with sports writers offering different viewpoints on websites, blogs and on Facebook.
Those who want the team to obtain the best possible results had positive views.
Some fans feel that the world meet is more important than the Asiad and the strongest team should go to Italy. Some fans are highly optimistic that the team has the ability to win all the competitions they enter. Some fans said they would be fully satisfied if the TVA sends a team with stars Onuma Sittirak, Wilavan Apinyapong and Pleumjit Thinkaow in it.
It became obvious that the TVA cannot satisfy the wishes of all the fans. Some, therefore, countered that the TVA should make the final decision and fans should respect it. Still, the controversial issue has not gone away. It has remained in the public domain and on social media for the last few months.
Fans should know that fielding a team in big competitions is not as easy as ABC. It takes preparation and time.
The saying goes that if you put three people in a room, you’ll get four different opinions. The TVA did make an effort to put together different and conflicting views and came out with the best solution of fielding two different teams. TVA director and FIVB executive member Shanrit Wongprasert said the strongest six, judging by their skills, form and experience, would go to the Asiad, while the second tier six would participate in the world meet.
We can only hope that the two teams return with great results and soothe their fans’ feelings.
