Thailand went down in straight sets to Canada in the 9th-12th playoffs match on Saturday to next fight it out with Cuba for the 11th place at the FIVB Volleyball U21 Men’s World Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Thailand earlier lost 0-3 to reigning world champions Iran in Pool G but joined the Asian counterparts to the 9-12th playoffs round with top two teams in Pool H, Canada and Cuba.
Against Canada, world No.18 and 12th at the previous edition in Bahrain two years ago, Thailand fought hard but still found the well-organised rivals too strong to succumb to the straight-set loss 20-25, 16-25, 17-25.
Jonathan Pickett chipped in with 14 points for Canada, while left-hander Sutthiphong Donlakkham led Thailand with 7 points.
Jonathan Pickett, outside hitter of Canada, said after the match: “It feels really good to be on the court. I just love the opportunity to be here in Bulgaria representing my country and it is fun to fight in every match together with my ‘brothers’ on the court. The start today was a bit tough, but the end was positive and we are happy now. We do not have any preferences for our next opponent. I think we are going to take it no matter who we will play against. We are ready for both Iran and Cuba.”
Sutthiphong Donlakkham, opposite and captain of Thailand, said: “We did our best today. The weather in Bulgaria is very cold and we are not used to play in cold weather. We will continue to fight tomorrow to make our fans happy.”
On October 3, the final day of the topflight competition, Thailand will go up against Cuba, which lost to Iran 1-3 (15-25, 19-25, 25-17, 23-25), in the 11th-12th playoff clash.
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