Spikers all set to host World Grand Prix

The Thai women’s team made their mark last year by finishing a best-ever fourth place at the top-tier FIVB World Grand Prix Finals in Ningbo, China, followed by their maiden victory in the AVC Cup, in Kazakhstan. The soaring success brought fame to the Kingdom and resulted in a boost in popularity for the sport at every level of the volleyball competition nationwide. 

Last year in June, Bangkok hosted the World Grand Prix Preliminaries at the 3,500-seater Keelawes 1 Gymnasium, which saw over 7,000 spectators throng into the arena to watch their favourite team.

This year, Bangkok has been given the green light by the world governing body the FIVB to host the World Grand Prix Preliminaries Pool L, with four strong teams – two-time world champions Russia, Germany, Puerto Rico and Thailand – battling for supremacy from August 16 to 18. Due to increased demand from spectators, the TVA has decided to shift the competition venue to the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, which has double the seating capacity of the Keelawes 1 Gymnasium.

“To avoid overcrowding at the competition venue, we have decided to begin selling tickets for spectators to watch the three-day event. Although Hua Mark Indoor Stadium is much bigger than Keelawes 1, after seating capacity has been expanded to 6,245, I still believe we will see the venue as packed as it was last year for the thrilling competition,” Shanrit Wongprasert, TVA director and an FIVB executive board member, said at the meeting yesterday.

“The tickets released will still be insufficient to meet the increased demand from spectators, so we will manage the distribution systematically to ensure only those with tickets in hand will have seats. Advance booking for tickets will soon be announced,” he added.

The ticket information came after hundreds of spectators posted enquiries on social networks including Facebook and Twitter, asking about availability. 

The schedule for the FIVB World Grand Prix Pool L in Bangkok was also announced yesterday, with Thailand, current world No 12, set to take on Puerto Rico in the curtain-raiser on August 16 at 4pm, before Russia face Germany on the same day at 6. Matches are being held in the evening for the first time.

The 2pm and 6pm match times will be in place for the remaining two days, August 17 and 18, with Thailand playing the second match on both days.

 The Thai spikers will also test their mettle against 16 teams in the Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship, from September 13 to 21 in either Nakhon Pathom or Nakhon Ratchasima.