Khonkaen spikers blunted in Asian Club Championship
Thai champions Idea Khonkaen failed to transfer their domestic dominance to the international stage in Vietnam, suffering two straight losses in their opening matches of the 14th Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship at the Buon Ma Thuot Gymnasium in
Idea Khonkaen, who went unbeaten to be crowned Thailand League champions this season, put up a hard fight against Vietnam’s Lienviet Postbank before going down in a gruelling five-set thriller 16-26 25-20 30-28 23-25 15-17.
Khonkaen are up against Kazakhstan’s Zhetyssu, Taiwan’s Taipei and hosts Lienviet in Pool A, while China’s Guangdong Evergrande, Japan’s PFU Blue Cats, South Korea’s Bo Tong Gang and Iran’s Giti Pasand are in Pool B.
After the opening-day loss to the hosts on Monday, Khonkaen had the chance to make amends in yesterday’s encounter against Taipei, beaten 3-1 by Zhetyssu on Monday. However, the Thai team fail to solve the well-organised Taipei, who powered to a 3-1 (25-18 25-18 17-25 25-20) win yesterday.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t find a way to block their fast spikes,” said Khonkaen’s head coach Banjong Sombat after the clash. “A few players in the team also suffered injuries, with Em-Orn Phanusit sustaining a left ankle injury.
“It was a close match. We won the third set and battled to clinch the fourth, but we failed to make our mark.
“We next play Kazakhstan’s Zhetyssu in our last preliminary round match. It won’t be easy to win as they are tall and hard-attacking. However, we will do our best with our backs against wall.
“We have to practise much harder, particularly on attacking tactics. If we can beat the Kazakhs, we still have chances,” of qualifying.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s Lienviet were due to take on Zhetyssu, Iran’s Giti Pasand to play Koreans Bo Tong Gang, while title-hotshots Guangdong Evergrande of China faced a clash of the titans against Japan’s PFU Blue Cats later yesterday.
The top four teams from each group will go through to the quarter-finals.
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