Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, January 7, 2020 – The hosts Thailand delighted almost 4,000 spectators and stroke their first step to Tokyo following a convincing 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-16) victory over Chinese Taipei on the opening day of 2020 AVC Women’s Tokyo Volleyball Qualification here at Chatchai Hall.
With similar play style, both teams presented long rallies often to excite the spectators time and time again. Kongyot Ajcharaporn highlighted the night with a match-high 17 points for Thailand followed by Moksri Chatchu-On with 12. Captain Chang Li-Wen also scored remarkable team-high 15 points for Chinese Taipei, but their inferiority in blocking and over-many mistakes resulted in the straight-set loss.
Thailand had a slow start but they soon came back to a 8-5 lead at the first technical timeout. With the attacking trio of Thinkaow Pleumjit, Kongyot Ajcharaporn and Moksri Chatchu-On, they firmly controlled the situation and smoothly secured the first set win in 25-16.
Benefiting from their enhanced service, Chinese Taipei quickly built a 4-0 lead in the second set. Thailand fought back to register their first point but a sudden blackout interrupted the match. After the recovery of power supply, Thailand chased all the time behind until 12-12 tie. Moksri Chatchu-On stood out and brought the host team to their first lead in 14-13 with a penetrating spike. Thereafter, they played more confidently and grasped the tough set in 25-21 following two points in a row by Kongyot Ajcharaporn.
The third set appeared the same pattern as Thailand fought hard to catch up to 9-9 tie. From then on, they again reversed the situation and pulled away to win the set in 25-16.
“It was our first game of the tournament at home, so I think we started a little bit nervous especially in the beginning of the first and second sets. So to bring the players potential and our level back was quite difficult. I had to encourage them more and I am glad that finally we came back to our own game. This tournament is very important for us, so we need to focus a lot more. We have to improve more on the side-out and service reception.” said Thailand head coach Danai Sriwacharamaytakul.
Related links of AVC
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: https://twitter.com/avcvolley
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation