Thailand flatter to deceive against Italy

Against the world No 5s and current World Cup holders, the Thais showed plenty of spirit , none more so than in the first set when they came back from 10-15 and 14-19 down to lead 23-20.

Onuma Sittirak displayed awesome defensive prowess, while hard-hitting Wilavan Apinyapong and Pleumjit Thinkaow contributed some effective attacks.

After going down in the closely-contested first two sets 25-27 22-25, Thailand pulled their game together in the third set to tie 19-19. However, the stronger Italians powered on to win the set 25-22 and take the match.

Thai head coach Kiattipong Radchata-griengkai admitted after that match that the mission against Italy, one of the world's top teams, had been daunting.

"My players tried their best, but it's not so easy to beat Italy, one of best teams in the world. However, the experience of playing them has taught us a lot. It was a great honour to play the Italians."

"We are playing for the first time in the tournament. We will try to improve our form and fortune in the following matches. However, we gave a chance to our second setter [Kamolporn Sukmak] to try and sharpen her skill. We also need to improve our younger players by giving them good exposure."

Captain Wilavan added, "We are not satisfied with the game, but we did our best and had a good experience. We learned a lot of things because Italy is a strong team."

Today, Thailand go up against North American champions Dominican Republic, who went down to the Olympic gold medallists and reigning champs Brazil 23-25 16-25 17-25.