Thailand suffer second VNL defeat after five-set China thriller
Thailand’s women’s volleyball team pushed China to five sets in Nanjing before suffering their second straight defeat in VNL 2026.
- Thailand's women's volleyball team lost 3-2 to China in a five-set match in the 2026 Volleyball Nations League.
- The defeat marks Thailand's second consecutive loss in the tournament, following an earlier defeat to Serbia.
- The final set scores were 14-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-23, 7-15, with China winning the decisive final set.
Thailand’s women’s national volleyball team suffered their second consecutive defeat in the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League 2026 after losing 3-2 to China on Thursday, June 4.
The match took place in Nanjing, China, where head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai named his starting line-up of Pimpichaya Kokram, Thatdao Nuekjang, Ajcharaporn Kongyot, Wimonrat Thanapan, Sasipapron Janthawisut and Pornpun Guedpard.
Thailand fought with determination throughout the contest, but China’s strength and composure proved decisive in the deciding set. The Thai side eventually went down 14-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-23, 7-15.
The result followed Thailand’s opening defeat to Serbia in Nanjing, where Serbia won in straight sets, 26-24, 25-22, 25-19.
Thailand will next face Belgium on Saturday, June 6, at 2pm Thailand time.
Thailand face world-class rivals across VNL 2026
The 2026 VNL features 18 teams: Italy, Brazil, Türkiye, Poland, Japan, China, the United States, the Netherlands, Serbia, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Canada, France, Belgium, Czechia, Ukraine, Thailand and Bulgaria.
Each team will play 12 matches across three preliminary weeks. Thailand began their campaign in Nanjing before returning home for Week 2 at Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok. The third week will take place in Kansai, Japan.
The top eight teams after the preliminary round will advance to the Finals in Macau, China, from July 22 to 26. The team finishing 18th will be relegated and will not return for the 2027 season, with the highest-ranked eligible team outside the competition taking its place.
Fans in Thailand can watch the live broadcast on MONOMAX Sports Channel 29, while every match is available through the paid MONOMAX service.
