The Thai women’s team have been handed an uphill-but-doable task of finishing among the top four in a group of eight countries loaded with some volleyball powerhouses to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Aiming to make their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, the national team were yesterday informed of the seven opponents with whom they must battle in May for the four available Olympic spots.
The No.13-ranked Thai women will meet hosts and world No.5 Japan, sixth-ranked Dominican Republic, No.8 Italy, South Korea (No.9), the Netherlands (No.17), Peru (No.21) and Kazakhstan (No.26).
Thailand must finish in the top four of the round-robin competition to qualify for the Olympics to be held in August.
“We do have a 50 percent chance of booking a place for the Olympic Games,” said Sharnrit Wongprasert of the Volleyball Association of Thailand.
“Looking at the profile of each team, it will not be easy for us at all,” Sharnrit added.
However, he believes that if the team manage to win at least four matches, that would be enough to qualify for the Games.
“We have a good chance to beat Peru and Kazakhstan. The Netherlands will be tough but we have beaten them before,” he said.
Sharnrit added that the Dominican Republic, who were well beaten by the US a few days ago, will also be a tough opponent for Thailand.
“As for South Korea, they have not participated in a major tournament for a long time. I think our game against them will be very important as we would need a victory over them if we were to win an Olympic place,” he said.
“It will be tougher than our last attempt, but we still have time to prepare.
“In all, four wins should be enough for us to play at the Olympics for the first time.”
To prepare for the qualifying tournament, to be staged in Tokyo from May 14-June 5, the Thai players will start training together in March.
“Most of our players will be the same because we will need some experienced hands, although some might be picked from the U23 team,” Sharnrit said.
“A month-long training should be enough.”
The six teams that have already secured spots for the 12-team women’s Olympic volleyball competition are hosts Brazil, Argentina, Serbia, China, the US, and Russia.
In Lincoln, a few weeks back, just before Christmas and before the Americans had reconvened in California from their club teams overseas, US captain Courtney Thompson sent a group email to her teammates with a clear message: “Let’s do this. Time to qualify for Rio. Now.”
Some responded all in serious tones, others in humour. Some pondered the words and offered no reply.
On Saturday night, each one delivered.
Four months after a major miss, tournament MVP Nicole Fawcett and the US women’s volleyball team are Olympic-bound at last.
The top-ranked Americans defeated the Dominican Republic 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 to wrap up a berth into the 12-team Olympics this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, then ran around the arena slapping hands with anyone who was willing.
Middle blocker Rachael Adams recalled of the note: “It has been awesome. Before we stepped foot out of all the countries we were playing professionally in, Courtney Thompson sent us an email like: ‘Hey, as soon as we step into this gym when we return to California, we need to be on. We don’t want to waste days trying to get comfortable with each other or trying to figure things out.’
“We’re really diligent in what we’re doing and how we’re working together. It’s really the best it’s been in a while. That means a lot.” bangkok post/ap