Thailand women’s national team players pose in group photo with distinguished guests including TVA President Mr Somporn Chaibangyang on the stage
Electrifying moments await ardent volleyball enthusiasts when the 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship has already been confirmed to burst into action-packed encounters between August 30 and September 6 at 5,000-seater Chartchai Hall and The Mall Korat’s MCC Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima, a large province on the northeastern plateau with a distance of 259km from Bangkok and acts as a gateway to other provinces in the northeast.
The eight-day topflight championship will be the fourth time to be organized by Nakhon Ratchasima after their remarkable successes in hosting the 11th Championship in 2001, followed by the 14th and 17th editions in 2007 and 2013 respectively. However, in terms of the host country, Thailand has already organized the championship for five times including the 1991 edition in Bangkok and 1995 in Chiang Mai. The 22nd championship in Nakhon Ratchasima will be, therefore, the overall 6 times of Thailand to play host to the prestigious competition.
The 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima has attracted a total of 14 teams to vie for top honor and accumulated points for FIVB World Rankings.
Hosts and world No.15 Thailand, which captured the Asian title twice in 2009 and 2013, are in Pool A together with Mongolia, which finished 11th in their last appearance at the 2015 edition in China, and world No.51 Australia, while Pool B consists of world No.8 Japan, defending and consecutive two-time Asian champions, world No.63 India and Iran, current world No.61.
World No.35 Korea, which have yet won the Asian titles to secure second spot for seven times, will seek their unprecedented title in Nakhon Ratchasima to compete in Pool C with world No.50 Chinese Taipei, world No.64 Uzbekistan and AVC Challenge Cup champions Vietnam, current world No.47
Formidable China, world No.6, former 13-time Asian champions and historic silver medallists at the recent VNL, are in Pool D, with Hong Kong China, Kazakhstan and Philippines joining the fray.
Participating teams will compete in the pool round-robin preliminaries, with only top two teams from each pool advancing to the Top 8, split into Pool E (A1, A2, C1, C2) and Pool F (B1, B2, D1, D2). Lower-ranked sides will be relegated to Classification Round for 9th-14th places, with teams finishing 3rd in Pool A and 3rd, 4th places in Pool C contesting Pool G and those finishing 3rd in Pool B and 3rd, 4th places in Pool D competing in Pool H.
In the Round of Top 8, well-qualified teams will be pitted in the pool round-robin competition once again, with top two teams from Pool E and Pool F contesting the cross semifinals. The two winning teams will next face off in the final showdown on September 6, while the losers will fight it out in the third-place playoff clash for bronze medal.
TVA President Somporn, middle, chairs the meeting
To ensure that all is set for Thailand and host city Nakhon Ratchasima in particular in hosting the 22nd edition, the press conference was held on Thursday at Golden Tulip Sovereign Hotel Bangkok, with Thailand Volleyball Association President Mr Somporn Chaibangyang presiding.
Also in attendance included Nakhon Ratchasima Governor Mr Sayam Sirimongkol, Mr Prachum Boonthiam, Deputy Governor of Sports Authority of Thailand for Sports Excellence and Sports Science and Mr Thitapol Kanchana, Event Manager of Thai Drinks, the marketer and brand management of est Cola.
“We’re confident that the 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship will be a great success in terms of organization, impressing all participating teams as well as local and international officials involved in this prestigious championship. I would like to extend my most sincere gratitude for generous support that you all have given to the TVA and for the way that we all have well cooperated for several years. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Thailand National Sports Development Fund, Sports Authority of Thailand, Thai Drinks, Nakhon Ratchasima as well as PPTV HD36 and all supporters and sponsors to help make this championship happen,” Mr Somporn was quoted as saying in his speech during the Thursday’s press conference.
Prachum
Mr Prachum said, “The Sports Authority of Thailand also plays an important role in supporting sports associations in organizing national and international competitions and that will make the very first step in helping uplevel sports performances of Thailand. We SAT are very delighted to join forces in developing sports aside from offering happiness to Thai volleyball fans in closely watching and supporting the Thailand women’s national team at the competition venue.”
Sayam
Regarding readiness of the host city, Nakhon Ratchasima Governor Mr Sayam said, “We are ready to showcase our capability in hosting the 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Championship. We have great experience in successfully organizing major volleyball tournaments. The keys to success in doing so lies in the reasons that Nakhon Ratchasima has strong teamwork with quality manpower. We also have standard competition venues which have also met the AVC requirements.
Sayam poses with Thailand women’s national team players
“To make this championship a remarkable success, we have recruited over 200 staffs including court assistants, all of them with great experience. We have set our sights that apart from having much from watching thrilling matches during the championship, the volleyball lovers and all visitors will stand a chance in sightseeing tourist attractions in our city.”
MATCH SCHEDULE
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