Spikers take on SE Asian rivals for berth in World C'Ship
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Hosts Thailand enter the Asia Zone men's qualifiers today, bidding to become one of two Southeast Asian teams at next year's volleyball World Championship.
The three-day 2014 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Championship Qualifica-tion Zonal Round Southeast Asia is being held in Nakhon Pathom Sports Centre Gymnasium, with Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar playing in the round-robin contest.
Australia, Iran, China and Japan will jointly host the 16-team final round for Asia this September, with three more qualified teams joining them in Pool A, B, C and D respectively. The winners of each pool will then make the cut for next year’s 24-team FIVB World Championship in Poland.
Six teams have already booked berths in Asia’s final round, with Australia, Iran, China, Japan and South Korea automatically qualified as top-five Asian teams in the world ranking, and Kazakhstan and New Zealand making it through on their own merits.
Among those now vying for the remaining nine slots in the final round are the four teams in Nakhon Pathom, who are aiming to stamp their names on the two Southeast Asian tickets.
Today, hosts and SEA Games champions Thailand kick off their campaign against Vietnam, while Indonesia take on Myanmar. SMM TV will televise the Thailand match live from 5pm.
“All four teams competing here are very close. It’s quite difficult to guess which two teams will win tickets for the final round. We will see tough matches out there, in a competition that also serves as a SEA Games tune-up. Every team will send a strong line-up as preparation for the Games. I hope my team will achieve what we have done before – beating every team to emerge as this zone’s champions,” said Thai head coach Monchai Supajirakul.
Thailand will also host the Women’s World Championship Qualification South Asia Zone, with India battling Uzbekistan for the lone South Asia ticket for the continent’s final round.
