New faces in Thai squad for GP opener
The Thai women’s volleyball team begin their 2017 World Grand Prix campaign in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands tonight.
World No.14 Thailand, who have been drawn in Pool C1 along with No.7 Netherlands, No.9 Dominican Republic and No.6 Japan for the opening weekend of the annual FIVB tournament, face arch-rivals Japan in the opening match today (1.30am early tomorrow morning Thai time).
Then they play hosts Netherlands tomorrow at 10.30pm and Dominican Republic on Sunday (1.30am Monday morning Thai time).
Channel 3HD will broadcast all of Thailand’s matches live.
Coach Danai Sriwacharamaytakul said: “We have called up several young players due to injuries to some of the senior members of the team.
“It is a good opportunity for these young players to gain experience.
“All the senior players in the team have been playing together for a long time and our opponents are familiar with their style, so it could be a good thing to have some new faces.
“We hope to gain point in every match we play,” added the coach.
Danai replaced Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai who stepped down after last year’s campaign.
Team captain Pluemjit Thinkaow said: “We’ve been training very hard for this tournament as we have to play three weeks
in a row. The first week will be tough but we’re ready.”
After three weeks of pool competition, the top five ranked teams along with hosts China will play in the final round in Nanjing from Aug 2-6.
TICKETS GO ON SALE
Tickets for the third leg of this year’s tournament at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium from July 21-23 go on sale today, starting 10am.
The tickets, priced at 300, 400 and 600 baht, can be purchased online via www. thaiticketmajor.com or from any Thai Ticket Major outlet.