Magnificent Thais stun Japan
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Eye knockout stage after a thrilling four-game victory
In-form Thailand put in a flawless performance to stun world No 3 Japan 3-1 and keep alive their hopes of advancing to the semi-finals in the 17th Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship.
The victory over Olympic bronze medallists Japan, who were fourth at the recent World Grand Prix, was sweet revenge for Thailand, after two defeats against the Japanese this year.
Yesterday, world No 16 and 2009 Asian champions Thailand leapt to a 12-1 lead before letting their foot off the accelerator to win the first game 25-15. Japan then fought back aggressively, but the hosts drew on the energy of a large cheering crowd at Chatchai Hall to edge the second game 25-23.
One of the world’s best attackers, Saori Kimura – who led Japan to the 2007 Asian crown – then hit back, helping the visitors win the third game 25-23.
A resurgent Japan then went 16-11 up in the fourth game before Thailand wrestled back the momentum to triumph by two points for the match win, 25-15 25-23 23-25 30-28.
The victory brightened Thai hopes of making it to the semi-finals.
Today, the home side plays Vietnam – their last match in Pool E quarter-finals. Japan will tackle tough Kazakhstan.
The draw for the quarter-finals knock-out stage will be released after the completion of the round-robin matches today.
The competition format has been changed to allow teams who suffered an upset in earlier rounds the chance of a comeback.
“My players had this immense self-belief they could beat Japan. We learned from our past mistakes and tried hard to improve our game. Against Vietnam, we have to do our best. We can’t underestimate any team. Our fortunes are improving now,” Thai head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai said.
Japan’s head coach Manabe Masayashi praised the hosts.
“Thailand played exceptionally well. They attacked continuously and they showed good teamwork and consistency, while my players lost their concentration,” he said.
Meanwhile, thousands of volleyball fans who failed to get tickets for the Thailand-Japan match yesterday almost caused a riot outside the stadium. All 4,500 tickets were sold out hours before the match, but organisers relented in the face of demand and released another 300 standing-only tickets.
That still left many fans, some of whom had travelled from other provinces, frustrated at not being able to see the match and they expressed their anger at officials
and policemen on duty outside the venue. A group of fans also tried to break through the iron fence around the gymnasium, forcing security and police to beef up their presence.
To relieve the tension, organisers quickly set up a live broadcast of the match via big screens outside the stadium.
