Quang Ninh, Vietnam, May 22, 2022 – Home fans left the Quang Ninh Gymnasium with heads bowed in great despair on Sunday when Vietnamese men’s and women’s teams similarly succumbed to bitter 0-3 loss to Indonesia and Thailand in their respective final men’s and women’s showdowns in the 31st Southeast Asian Games Volleyball Tournament.
On Sunday, mighty Indonesia and perennial champions Thailand kept Vietnam’s cheering home fans inside the packed competition venue under their feet, powering past Vietnam men’s team in convincing straight sets 25-22, 25-18, 25-15 and their women’s side 25-20, 25-14, 25-14 to retain their SEA Games titles with similar remarkable unbeaten records on Sunday.
In the men’s showdown, reigning and 10-time champions Indonesia set up the 2007 SEA Games final rematch with Vietnam, which earlier defied against all odds to stun the formidable Thais 3-2 in the semifinals. However, Vietnam had been beaten 1-3 by the Indonesians in the preliminary Pool A clash earlier.
Around 4,500 local enthusiasts thronged into the competition venue to support their team, but Indonesia, which have yet lost a match to their respective rivals en route to the Sunday’s showdown, turned up the heat on the home side.
Led by a brilliant all-round performance from star spiker Rivan Nurmulki, who played professionally in the Japan’s V.League the previous season, and the 193cm, 21-year-old Farhan Halim, Indonesia made a strong start with a hard-fought 25-22 win in the first set and after that, flexed their muscles to take the second set 25-18. Though nosily cheered on by their supporters, Vietnam battled hard in the third set, hoping to revive their fortunes, but still found the visitors too strong to go down 15-25.
Rival Nurmulki chipped in with 18 points including 17 attacks for Indonesia, while Farhan Halim added with 16 points including 3 solid blocks. Duong Van Tien was the only Vietnamese who scored double digits with 10 points in this match.
Following the sensational victory, Indonesia stretched their invincibility to unchanged 11 times in the SEA Games. They first underlined their supremacy over the region’s biennial biggest multi-sports event in 1981 in Philippines and continued their dominance in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2019 and 2022 (2021 SEA Games in Vietnam).
Though disappointed by the failure of their men’s team, home fans continued cheering on the women’s team in the revenge match against Thailand, to whom they had lost 9 times in the final showdown at the previous SEA Games and the 1-3 loss earlier in the thrilling clash in the single round-robin preliminaries.
Thailand fielded a formidable lineup, all of them played professionally in different overseas leagues comprising Ajcharaporn Kongyot and Chatchu-on Moksri in Turkey, Hattaya Bamrungsuk, Pimpichaya Kokrum and Thatdao Nuekjang in Japan and setter Pornpun Gerdpard in Indonesia, while powerful Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, who also played in Japan’s V.League, spearheaded Vietnam.
With Chatchu-on, Pimpichaya and Ajcharaporn brilliantly orchestrating the Thai defence and overpowering the blockers with their exceptional attacks, Thailand took the closely-contested opening set 25-22.
However, things turned sour for Vietnam and their fans. Vietnam were errors-strewn in the second set and the energetic Thailand seized the opportunity to peel off consecutive points to wrap up the comfortable set 25-14. Seeing their team go down in two straight sets, Vietnamese fans started to leave the venue in disappointment. However, the show went on in the third set, where the momentum still was with coach Danai Sriwacharamaytakul’s girls and they continued to put Vietnam under enormous pressure in the set to eventual capture it 25-14 and match.
Chatchu-on Moksri scored a team-high 13 points including 9 attacks for Thailand, while Pimpichaya Kokram and Ajcharaporn Kongyot kept good company to assist with 11 and 10 points respectively. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy led Vietnam with 10 points including 9 attacks.
With the gritty 3-0 win, Thailand remained invincible in 15 SEA Games and still proved to be the strongest team to beat in years to come.
Shortly after end of the women’s event, the awards presentation and closing ceremony took place and the top three teams – Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia in the men’s event and Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia in the women’s competition – stepped on the top-three victory podium, heard the two eventual winners’ national anthems and celebrate their victories with hugs, handshakes and photo opportunity.
Though unable to win their unprecedented SEA Games titles, Vietnam was very successful in organising the 31st SEA Games Volleyball Tournament in Quang Ninh in terms of facilities and infrastructures provided in the competition venue, spectators and an excellent run of the 10-day event.
For Vietnam, although dreams of winning historic gold medal continue to be pursued, one thing they can be proud of is that they have already hosted another successful SEA Games. More importantly, the Games slogan “For A Stronger South East Asia,” a message of solidarity, has already been conveyed to all SEA Games volleyball participants to uphold their spirt, building a shriving ASEAN Community and further promoting Vietnam’s role in international arena.
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