Serbia too strong for Thailand in World Grand Prix

Serbia too strong for Thailand in World Grand Prix

Brankica Mihajlovic spikes the ball past Thai players during the game between Serbia and Thailand in Sendai, Japan, on Sunday. (FIVB photo)
Brankica Mihajlovic spikes the ball past Thai players during the game between Serbia and Thailand in Sendai, Japan, on Sunday. (FIVB photo)

Serbian spikers defeated the Thai volleyball team on Sunday as the two wrapped up their meetings in Japan before the games move to Bangkok.

The Serbs, ranked first in the 12-team Group 1, overcame a good fight from the Thais in the second set to win the match 3-1 (25-17, 23-25 25-16, 25-19).

Thailand entered the contest with confidence after an upset over defending champions Brazil on Saturday. But Serbia proved too strong for Thailand throughout the game.

Ajcharaporn Kongyot led all Thais in scores with 13 points and Pluemjit Thinkaow was the second best scorer with 11.

The FIVB tournament will move to Bangkok on Friday. The hosts Thailand are in Pool H1 of Group 1 with the Dominican Republic, Italy and Turkey.

Thai spikers will take on the Dominicans at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium on Friday, meet Turkey on Saturday and play against Italy on Sunday.

Thirty-two teams are competing in this year's 25th edition of the World Grand Prix, with the Group 1 finals set to take place from Aug 2-6 in Nanjing, China. The teams are split into three groups with 12 teams competing in Groups 1 and 2 and eight teams in Group 3.

The Group 1 Preliminary Round is being played over three weekends in four-team pools, with the top five in the combined standings plus the hosts of the finals making it to the final six. Groups 2 and 3 follow a similar format but with only four finalists emerging from each one.

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