Thailand fell to Serbia in straight sets (25-13, 29-27, 25-19) in the second match of their FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League 2024 campaign at the Maracanazinho stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Friday.
Chatchu-on Moksri led the Thai scoring with 11 points, followed by Wipawee Srithong and Thanatcha Suksod with 10 each.
The victory moved the Serbs up one spot to third in the world rankings while Thailand remained in 13th place.
The Thai women are still involved in the race to qualify for the Olympics in Paris, and will need good results in the first weeks of the VNL tournament to keep their dream alive.
Currently the team has 217.28 ranking points but they need to close the gap on 10th-ranked Netherlands, who have 289.31 points and are the last team inside the Paris qualification zone.
The five remaining Olympic places will be decided using the FIVB rankings as of June 2024, prioritising countries from continents that do not yet have qualified teams in the Olympic tournament.
Thailand is, however, guaranteed a place in the top eight of the VNL tournament as the host of the 2024 Finals from June 20-23 in Bangkok.
Thailand, coached by Nataphon Srisamutnak, will play their next game against South Korea on Sunday afternoon in Rio. The match will begin at 3.30am Monday Thailand time.