The Thai women’s volleyball team made short work of struggling South Korea to secure their third victory at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a straight-sets win in Lodz, Poland on Saturday.
The Asian champions scored 46 points on the attack versus 30 by their opponents, and 17 from opponent errors against 12 by the 36th-ranked Koreans, en route to the 25-14, 25-16, 25-16 win.
Outside hitter Ajcharaporn Kongyot paced the Thai scorers with 20 points, followed by Chatchu-On Moksri with 11. Middle blocker Thatdao Nuekjang and opposite hitter Thanacha Sooksod contributed 8 points each.
The victory is the third in a row for the 14th-ranked Thai women, who defeated Slovenia in straight sets on Friday and scored a major 3-2 upset over seventh-ranked Poland on Wednesday. They now have a chance to secure a 4-3 record if they can win their final contest against 22nd-ranked Colombia on Sunday.
The USA remains the only undefeated side in Pool C with a record of 5-0. Italy, Poland and Germany are all at 4-1. The Thai side’s chances of a ticket to Paris 2024 are mathematically infinitesimal, but if they do not qualify in Poland, they still have a chance if they do well in the Nations League early next year.
Thailand had opened the tournament with straight-sets losses to Germany and defending Olympic champions the USA. They won a set against fifth-ranked Italy but went on to lose the match 3-1.
A total of 24 teams are competing for places in Paris in three eight-team pools, with the Pool A matches taking place in Japan and the Pool B competition in China.
Pool C consists of Thailand, hosts Poland, the USA, 2022 Nations League winners Italy, Germany, Colombia, South Korea and Slovenia.
Only 12 countries will make it into the Olympic volleyball tournament. The top two teams in each of the three pools will earn tickets to Paris. Hosts France already have an automatic place, and the remaining five places will be filled based on rankings following the first phase of the Volleyball Nations League 2024.
Thailand’s final match against Colombia will take place on Sunday at 7.30pm Thailand time and will be broadcast live on Workpoint TV Channel 23.