Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, Three third-round berths are up for grabs in the Asia Pool C second-round tournament of the 2010 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship when hosts Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh and Fiji pit their expertise against each another.
The round-robin competition will take place from June 12-14 at the 4,000-seat Nakhon Pathom Sport Center Gym, the same competition venue as the ongoing FIVB Men's World Championship second-round Asia Pool E competition.
Thailand, whose players are fresh from making history after winning the Asian Women's Club Championship for the first time, are tipped to top the standings in front of their home crowd.
Thailand, 19th in the FIVB World Rankings, has twice competed in the World Championship Final Round, the first time in Japan in 1998 where they finished 15th and the second time in Germany in 2002 where they finished 17th.
In the 2006 world meet, the Thai girls failed to make their mark when only four teams from Asia were eligible for the Final Round. They finished fifth in Asian qualification.
However, Thailand have improved their fortunes remarkably at several major international competitions in recent years. In addition to finishing third at the 2007 Asian Championship as well as at the Asian Women's Cup (both on home soil in Nakhon Ratchasima), the team also returned from the 2007 World Cup in Japan with a 10th-place finish and wound up fourth at the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar.
Head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai's team will be spearheaded by six key players who competed in the seven-month professional European Leagues, including fast spiker Pleumjit Thinkaow, wing attacker Wilavan Apinyapong and powerful Onuma Sittirak, who claimed two individual awards (including MVP) at the recent Asian Women's Club Championship.
Chinese Taipei is considered Thailand's strongest threat in Pool C. Chinese Taipei, ranked 21st in the world, has also taken part in two World Championships. They finished 11th in 1990 and 12th in 2006. The Taiwanese girls won gold at the 2005 World Universiade in Turkey, and claimed bronze at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
Under the close supervision of head coach Chang En Chung, Chinese Taipei will be led by experienced captain Lin Chun Yi, the team's tallest player at 183cm.
Chinese Taipei finished sixth in both the 2007 Asian Championship and the 2008 Asia Women's Cup.
The other two teams, Bangladesh and Fiji, are outside of the top 100 in the world rankings but are expected to make the three-day competition even more competitive.
Bangladesh, coached by Mohammad Schel, has to cope with a conspicuous height disadvantage. Only Sharmin Parveen Seema, at 176cm, stands over 170cm tall. The team's average is just 167cm.
Fiji, coached by Adi Varanisese Maraiwai, was the only team among the four participants to compete at the first-round Pool A in Wellington, New Zealand in April, where they finished second behind the hosts.
The Fijians will be led by 191cm-tall Anaseini Seniloli, who scored 29 points in three matches in the first round.
The four teams will vie for three tickets to the third round. The winner and third-place team will join hosts China and the second-place finisher from Pool B in the third-round Pool D bracket in Chengdu from July 3-5.
The runner-up in Nakhon Pathom will play hosts South Korea and teams finishing first and third from Pool B in third-round Pool E.
Match schedule Friday, June 12 Bangladesh vs. Chinese Taipei, Thailand vs. Fiji
Saturday, June 13 Fiji vs. Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh vs. Thailand
Sunday, June 14 Bangladesh vs. Fiji, Thailand vs. Chinese Taipei
|
