Coaches eyeing glory at Asian Women’s Club Championship

The coaches who will be leading the teams at the Asian Women's Club Championship

Ha Nam, Vietnam, September 11, 2015 – Seven of the 10 coaches that will take part in the 2015 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship, between September 12 and 20 at the Ha Nam Gymnasium in Ha Nam, shared their views on their teams and their team’s chances. 

For the winners, there is not only continental glory on offer, but also a place at the 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship.

Wu Sheng, Zhejiang, China

“We are well-prepared for this championship. We have a tough draw in Pool B. Above all, it is our first time in this tournament and I don’t know that much about the other teams’ background and performances. However, if we play well, I think my team stand a good chance to advance to the later rounds. At present, there is no national Chinese player in my team. We won the China League in the 2013-2014 season and at that time, we had four players who had already joined the national Chinese team. In our first match against Iran on Saturday, we don’t know their style, but we will play our best.”

Koto Yoichi, Hisamitsu Seiyaku Springs (Japan)

“We have prepared very well for this championship. There are many national players in my team, but most of them are still tired from the World Cup matches. However, the other players are also good and we can think about winning the title once again this time. Despite the fact that this is not a national team, we are a club from Japan and we are representing Japan. Therefore, we have to do our best on behalf of our country. China beat Japan in the World Cup to win the Olympic berth and this time, we will do our best to beat every team including the Chinese side in our first match to win a berth to compete in the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship, which will be three times in a row for our club. Our preparation is good and I think a winning chance can be within our team’s reach.”

Askar Shalkibekov, Kazakhstan’s Zhetyssu VC (Kazakhstan)

“We had good preparation for this tournament and we had a lot of training sessions as a team. Last year, we did not have enough time to train as a team and that was why we failed to make our mark. This time we had some more times to take rest and intensively trained together for other times. I think we are ready for the championship now. We first will play Thailand’s Bangkok Glass team. We will fight and play our best game against them. If we are on top form, I believe we can win the title.”

George Pascue, Petron Blaze Spikers (Philippines)

“Our goal is to finish among the top two in our pool. We trained together to learn tactics. I think my players are getting better and better. With two Brazilians in my team, I think we have a better chance to make it to the next round. 

Kittipong Pornchartyingcheep, Bangkok Glass VC (Thailand)

“Our preparation for this tournament has been not that good. My players went back to play for their own clubs in Thailand Division A in Si Sa Ket Province and then played again for their own clubs in the Channel 7 Champions Competition. We only trained intensively together four days and we focused on teamwork and reception. 

Pool A is quite tough as most of the participating teams are strong including Zhetyssu, whose key players are from their national Kazakhstan team. More importantly, they are much taller than us. Therefore, to attacking with high blocking is very difficult. However, we will use our speed advantage to foil Zhetyssu’s defence. Certainly, we won’t underestimate any team. I don’t want to set any target of which round we can reach, but I just want my players to try their best in every match they compete in. As superstars such as Pleumjit Thinkaow and Wilavan Apinyapong are in our team, expectations from the Thai fans are high. We promise to do our best. However, it’s still too early to predict our chances in this tournament. We have to play several teams in our pool and we can access our performances after we see how the other teams play. At this moment, we have to focus on our first match against Zhetyssu.”

Lin Ming-Hui, Taiwan Power (Chinese Taipei)

“I hope my players will play their best in every match. I think our pool is tough. The teams from Thailand and Kazakhstan are stronger than us, but the performances of my team and the host side have been very close. So, it’s hard to say which one is better and stronger. However, as we will take on the host team on Saturday, we will do our best to beat them. Our target in this championship is to finish among top four.”

Pham Van Long, Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank (Vietnam)

“We have the best players in my team, but we don’t have foreign players. Before taking part in this tournament, we had a good chance to sharpen our skills in an invitational tournament and we learned a lot from that competition. Against Taiwan Power from Chinese Taipei in our opening match on Saturday, we will try our best. We’ve already played Chinese Taipei this year and therefore, we know how to cope well with them. Our target in this championship is to finish in either fifth or sixth place.