Thailand fought hard against Russia but still found the European powerhouses too strong to go down in thrilling three-setter in their last pool preliminary match in the FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on Sunday.
Thailand, world No.44 which lost in straight sets in their first two Pool C encounters against Turkey and the USA, suffered three losses in succession in the top-flight competition, succumbed to 23-25, 20-25, 16-25 defeat at the hands of Russia, world No.4 and bronze medallists at the previous edition in Mexico two years ago.
Vita Akimova scored a match-high 14 points for Russia, while Panatda Chaiyaphet led Thailand with 13 points and Waranya Srilaoong added 10 points.
After the match, Elizaveta Kochurina, middle blocker of Russia, said at the Mixed Zone: “Our team managed to perform good on reception and in defense. Our goal is to always win, so this is what we are working on.”
Waranya Srilaoong, opposite hitter of Thailand, said: “Today, we are very happy, because we performed good on the field – this was our best match so far. We were serving good. Whatever happens in the next phase, we will be excited to play and if we win a match, that would mean a lot to us. We will do our best.”
With three straight losses, Thailand came in 4th place in Pool C, while unbeaten USA and Russia finished top two in the pool and advanced to the round of Top 8 in Pool E and Pool F. Turkey, third place in the pool, and Thailand have been relegated to the 9th-16th classification in Pool G and Pool H.
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