Thailand face Serbia in opening match
Thailand kick-start their 2015 World Grand Prix campaign with high hopes of stealing three points from higher ranked Serbia at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium today.
Thailand, who are ranked No.12 in the world and are making their 13th appearance at the annual tournament, were in a confident mood to beat Serbia, ranked eighth in the world, in their first Pool A preliminary round encounter.
“We are well prepared physically and mentally for this match,” said coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai.
“Serbia have made some changes to the squad after capturing the bronze medal at the European Games last week and we have a number of talented players with varying styles who are ready to take them on.”
The coach added that all teams in Group 1 are strong at serving the ball and his players would need to find ways to cope with that particular threat.
“We will focus on a side-out tactic because every team in our pool is excellent in serving,” said the Thai coach, referring to the strategy that leads to quickly picking up a point on the opponents’ serve.
“Against Japan, Serbia and Brazil, we have to receive the ball well to gain a chance to attack immediately.”
The two-time Asian champions Thailand’s best finish in the Grand Prix was fourth place recorded in 2012. They had ended their last year’s campaign in the 12th spot.
For Serbia, who will be making their fifth appearance at the event, coach Branko Kovacevic said his team were riding on a tide of confidence after claiming the bronze medal in the inaugural European Games last week.
However, he said he was expecting a tough fight against the hosts today.
“We know each other well as we have played many times,” he said. “Thailand can be tough rivals if they are able to receive the ball well which can make them very dangerous.”
“Like other Asian teams, Thailand are fast and execute a lot of combinations.”
Serbia had registered their highest third place finish in 2013 and were eighth last year.
The Thailand-Serbia match will be shown live on Channel 7 at 4pm.
In another match of Pool A today, defending champions Brazil, who are bidding for their 11th title, will face world No.4 Japan.
After the three preliminary rounds (nine matches each), the top five out of 12 teams will qualify for the Finals in Omaha, United States later this month where fivetime winners US have been guaranteed a place as the hosts.