Thailand stun champs Japan to book a place in Olympic qualifying meet

Australia lost to China in a hard-fought five-set thriller on the final day of the round-robin format in the top eight round, but their exceptional performance throughout the nine-day-long tournament was enough to win their first-ever title since their participation in the biennial tournament in 1975.

 The Aussies finished first after collecting six wins against one loss. Their best result in the championship was runners-up in 1999 and 2001.

 Reigning champs Japan, Korea and China all had the similar performances with a 5-2 win-loss record, but due to the better points win-loss ratio, Japan clinched the silver medal, with Korea and China in third and fourth places.

 Thailand, defending SEA Games champions and No 34 in the world ranking, made some 5,500 Indonesian spectators in disbelief when they unexpectedly overpowered Japan 25-20 25-20 25-23 in the last match of the tournament.

 "We have never thought that we can win against Japan, one of the top teams in Asia, in straight sets. This is unbelievable. I'm proud of my team," Thai team manager Chookiat Thaiyai commented.

 "I think Japan played under pressure, while we are in high spirit after our strategy worked well as planned. Our blocking, receiving and serves are just perfect. It was a real surprise to us."

 With the result, Thailand not only finished fifth in the tournament, the similar position they claimed two years ago, but also booked a place to participate in the Olympic Qualification Tournament.

 Thailand's Supachai Sriphum won the Best Receiver Award during the award presentation. A total of 17 teams participated in the championship which was held from August 31 to September 9.

 Team rankings: 1. Australia; 2. Japan; 3. Korea; 4. China; 5. Thailand; 6. Iran; 7. Indonesia; 8. Taiwan; 9. India; 10. Kazakhstan; 11. Qatar; 12. Saudi Arabia; 13. Pakistan; 14. Sri Lanka; 15. Vietnam; 16. Maldives; 17. Kuwait.

 The Nation