Five Thai volleyball teams face world's best in Phuket
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World No 1 Taiana Lima and Talita Da Rocha Antunes of Brazil head the seedings of the Phuket Thailand Open, powered by PTT, which starts at Karon Beach here today.
Seeded second in the six-day competition are compatriots Maria Clara Salgado Rufino and Carolina Solberg Salgado, ranked No 3 in the world. Other seeds include the German pair of Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst, the USA teams of April Ross and Jennifer Fopma, Jennifer Kessy and Brooke Sweat, the Spanish duo of Lilliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa McMillan Baquerizo and a third Brazilian pairing of Agatha Bednarczuk and Maria Antonelli.
Thailand are fielding the greatest number of teams, with three in the main draw and two in qualifying. Leading the home challenge are Thai No 1 duo Varapatsorn Radarong and Tanarattha Udomchavee, currently ranked No 40 in the world. They will be looking to improve on their best showing, a fifth place in Anapa, Russia. The other two Thai teams in the main draw are Rumpaipruet Numwong and Khanittha Hongpak, ranked world No 67, and wild-cards Usa Tenpaksee and Yupa Phokrongploy. The Thai teams in qualifiers today are Tippawan Srinuch and Saowaros Tangkaeo, and Ariya Laosaengsa and Kijja Khantarak.
The Phuket Thailand Open, the biggest annual beach volleyball event in Southeast Asia, will conclude on November 3.
Qualifiers for the final eight places in the main draw will be held from 9am today, with the main draw starting tomorrow with two days of pool play, before changing to a single elimination format for the latter stages of the event.
Admission to the tournament is free and a large sponsor zone onsite has fun-packed activities from PTT, Mazda, Chang and other sponsors to enhance spectators’ experience.
Other events at the tournament are the PTT Schools Cup and the PTT beach volleyball clinic, held on finals weekend.
SMM TV will live broadcast all the Thai teams’ matches, while the semi-finals on November 2 and the finals on November 3 will be televised in Thailand on NBT and T-Sports.
The Phuket Thailand Open is supported by the Sports Authority of Thailand, PTT, Thai Beverage Marketing, Mazda, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket Gazette, TO, Grand Sport, Kata Groups of Hotels and Woraburi Phuket.
