Thais silence the guns of S Korea

Fresh from thrashing Kazakhstan in straight sets on Friday, Thailand yesterday staged a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over South Korea to keep their hopes alive in the FIVB World Olympic Qualification Tournament at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The hard-fought, heart-pounding 19-25, 22-25, 29-27, 26-24, 15-12 win has given Thailand two points for an aggregate nine points, while South Korea have 13 points, which is enough to punch a ticket to the Rio Games.
Thailand have long dreamed of beating South Korea in the tournament. Since making their debut in the 2004 edition, Thailand have never defeated the mighty Koreans before. They went down 1-3 to the Koreans in 2004, lost 2-3 in 2008 and lost 0-3 in 2012. Last year, the Koreans beat the Thai team 2-3 in the second round of the Asian Championship in China.
Against the Incheon Asian Games champions, spearheaded by superstar spiker Kim Yeon-koung, who won the best scorer and the most valuable player awards at the 2012 London Games, Thailand tried their best but still found the going tough to go down 19-25 22-25 in the first two sets. However, they regrouped to prove that there is always life after death, hitting back bravely to win the remaining three sets 29-27 26-24 15-12 to claim two points from the win.
Onuma Sittirak scored a match-high 22 points for Thailand, while Kim Yeon-koung was South Korea’s top scorer with 34 points.
After the match, Thai head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai expressed his satisfaction over his team’s incredible victory: “It was a tough match as we all know that South Korea are one of the world’s strongest teams and not easy to beat. After losing the first two sets, my team played with complete ease. We just tried to refrain from making mistakes and played more consistently with confidence and determination. That was the key for our team’s success.
“I don’t think it will be an easy task against Peru tomorrow [today]. Peru have come with a stronger team this time. Attacker Leyva Angela is simply spectacular. We cannot underestimate the Peruvians. We have to do our best and play more carefully in our last match in Japan.”
Despite the win, Thailand’s chances of making it to Rio are slim. Thailand have won only three matches out of six while the top four – the Netherlands, South Korea, Italy and Japan – have scored four victories.
Even though South Korea lost to Thailand, they became the first team to qualify for the Rio Games. They have 13 points from four wins against two losses.
The Netherlands won the second Olympic ticket after beating Peru in straight sets yesterday. The third team will be decided in the late match between hosts Japan and Italy, with the winners headed for Rio and the losers – and Thailand – waiting until the end of their matches today when the fourth and last berth will be decided.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, trying to boost the morale of the team, yesterday sent a note of congratulations to Thai head coach Kiattipong.