Asian champs all set to step onto world stage

The Dominicans, who finished third in the 2009 edition, will join Olympic champions and two-time World Grand Prix winners Brazil, hosts Japan, two-time world champions Russia, Thailand and world No 2 USA in the meet from November 12 to 17.

Dominican Republic were handed the wild card thanks to an impressive world No 8 ranking and their second-place finish in their continental championship.

Thai head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai dampened expectations for his team, citing a lack of preparation time.

“Five players, including Onuma Sittirak, Nootsara Tomkom and Wilavan Apinyapong, are playing in the professional league in Azerbaijan but should join us on November 1. The rest of the team are training at Hua Mark where the emphasis is on physical fitness. That means they have to undergo more weight training. We have included some new and young players for the training camp, but for the WGCC campaign we will send the full-strength team that won the Asian meet in Nakhon Ratchasima last month,” Kiattipong said.

The Thai coach said the WGCC would offer valuable experience for his players. “We will have just one month for preparation, [but] the five in Azerbaijan will only be able to train with us for one week. Due to the shortage of training time I am not expecting my team to win the title. The exposure of playing against good teams will help, but I am not setting any target. Just keep your fingers crossed, my players will do their best in every match,” Kiattipong said.

As well as Thailand’s clash with the Dominicans, the first day in Nagoya will see USA play Brazil and Japan go up against Russia. 

Thailand then face world No 1 Brazil at the same venue. After a rest day on November 14, the Thais take on hosts Japan in Tokyo on November 15. The remaining two days see Thailand play the USA and Russia respectively in Tokyo.