Local boys Nuttanon and Sedtawat bags Men's Gold at the FIVB Beach Pak Bara Beach Tour,Satun

Satun, Thailand, April 11, 2018 – Top-seeded Nuttanon Inkiew and Sedtawat Padsawud made it all the way to the top of the podium at the SMM Pak Bara Beach Satun one-star stop on the 2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour to the great delight of the home fans in Thailand. For 26-year-old Nuttanon and 22-year-old Sedtawat this was only the fourth participation and their first ever medal on the World Tour.

The silver medals went to second-seeded Ade Rachmawan and Mohammad Ashfiya of Indonesia. For them this was also the fourth event and the first podium finish on the Tour. Fourth-seeded Rahman Raoufi and Abolhamed Mirzaali of Iran celebrated with the bronze. For Raoufi, who turned 40 in the first main draw competition day in Satun, this was the third World Tour medal after the bronze at Agadir 2017 and the silver at Muscat 2018, while his partner Mirzaali climbs the podium for the first time ever.

Ledoux and Stockman comes back from a set down to win Gold at FIVB Beach Tour Satun beating Kazakhstan

Tenth-seeded Caitlin Ledoux and Emily Stockman are the winners of the SMM Pak Bara Beach Satun one-star stop on the 2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. The American pair staged two great comebacks in their matches on Wednesday to grab the women’s crown. For 29-year-old Stockman it was the second gold and second medal of any kind on the World Tour after victory at Langkawi 2017. For 27-year-old Ledoux, this was also the second podium finish, but the first ever gold after claiming silver at Shepparton 2018. 

The Satun women’s silver went to Tatyana Mashkova and Irina Tsimbalova. For the Kazakhstani players seeded fourth in the tournament it was the first ever medal on the World Tour. Thailand’s Rumpaipruet Numwong and Khanittha Hongpak, seeded fifth, pleased the home crowd with the bronze medal. For the 23-year-old athletes, it was also the first podium finish in their World Tour careers.

In Wednesday’s gold medal match, Ledoux and Stockman claimed a 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-8) victory over Mashkova and Tsimbalova after 43 minutes of play. Halfway through the first set, the Kazakhstani duo established a slight lead and maintained it through to the end of the set, which came at 21-19 after a successful hit by Mashkova. In the second set the Americans started showing their superiority and cruised to a comfortable 21-16 win, shaped up with a smart hit by Stockman for the last point. The decisive tie-breaker was quite competitive through 5-5, but then Ledoux and Stockman went on a 10-3 run, with Stockman once again taking the responsibility to close the set at 15-8.

The bronze medal match was a tough battle, which the home team managed to win in straight sets. In both sets, however, Numwong and Hongpak celebrated narrow two-point wins – 2-0 (21-19, 24-22) against third-seeded Dhita Juliana and Putu Utami. The Indonesians stormed into the first set to open a 7-1 lead and widened it to 13-6. Cheered on by the fans on Pak Bara Beach, the Thai pair reacted with a seven-point series to tie the set at 13-13. In the concluding rallies, Numwong and Hongpak scored three in a row for a 21-19 win. The fierce battle for every point went on throughout the second set, with the gap never exceeding two points. The Indonesians were the first to reach set point, but then they had to save a couple of match points for Thailand. On the third one, Hongpak found an empty spot in the opponents’ half to close the game at 24-22.

Both semifinals earlier on Wednesday proved to be dramatic three-setters, in which the eventual winners had to come back from a set down on the way to the big final. Ledoux and Stockman overcame the resistance of Dhita and Putu for a 2-1 (20-22, 21-16, 15-13) victory after 53 minutes of play. It took Mashkova and Tsimbalova a minute longer to claim a 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 17-15) win over Numwong and Hongpak after a dramatic overtime tie-breaker.

FIVB releases Pools of Volleyball Nations League.Thailand to host Week 3 and 4 in Pool 11 and 15.

DHITA AND PUTU POWER THROUGH TO SATUN QUARTERFINALS

Four teams from four different countries emerged as pool winners and advanced directly to the quarterfinals of the SMM Pak Bara Beach Satun one-star stop on the 2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, as main draw action got underway on Monday. Only one of them, Indonesia’s Dhita Juliana and Putu Utami, managed to do so without losing any sets along the way. 

The third-seeded Dhita and Putu were also the highest-ranked pair to win their pool. Fourth-seeded Tatyana Mashkova and Irina Tsimbalova of Kazakhstan, eighth-seeded Sayaka Mizoe and Suzuka Hashimoto of Japan and tenth-seeded Caitlin Ledoux and Emily Stockman of USA were the other three teams that scored two wins each securing a spot among the best eight of the tournament.

Asian women dominate in Satun qualification round

Chinese Taipei’s Kou Nai-Han and Liu Pi Hsin had the better end game in two qualification round matches to advance to the main draw of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour SMM Pak Bara Beach Satun 1-star at the Pak Bara Beach on Sunday.



Kou N.H/Liu P.H. fought down to the wire to win against Russia’s Ekaterina Filina and Ksenia Dabizha 2-1 (17-21, 21-17, 16-14) and the Czech Republic’s Sara Olivova and Eliksa Davidova 2-1 (24-22, 18-21, 27-25), respectively.

Spain’s Paula Soria Gutierrez and Maria Belen Carro Marquez de Acuna survived as the remaining European contender in the qualification round, following their 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) win over Hong Kong’s Ting Chi Yuen and Wai Yan Au Yeung.
After a convincing straight-set win in the first round of qualifications, Japan’s Yukako Suzuki/Saho Sakaguchi and Yui Nagata/Minori Kumada displayed resilience in their next match with respective 2-1 (21-15, 23-25, 15-11) and 2-1 (16-21, 21-12, 16-14) victories over European sides.

Supreme VC retains Tha-Denmark Volleyball Championship 2018 title 3-2 victory over archival Bangkok Glass

In-form Supreme VC, the reigning Asian Women’s Club champions and successive two-time Thailand League winners, successfully defended the Thai-Denmark Super League title on Sunday after the epic 3-2 victory over archival Bangkok Glass at the packed MCC Hall, The Mall Bangkapi Shopping Mall in Bangkok.

The fantastic comeback 3-2 (22-25 18-25 25-18 25-10 16-14) victory augers well  for their preparation for title defence at the 2018 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship, which is due to take place in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan between July 11 and 18.

Supreme made much of the impact last year. Winning the locally-held Thailand League for the first time in history, Supreme made a double victory when they went on to capture the 2017 Thai-Denmark Super League, stunning title-holders and the 2015 Asian Club winners Bangkok Glass 3-1 in the final showdown. They continued their exceptional performance in the regional stage by landing the Asian Women’s Club title, the second club from Thailand after Bangkok Glass to win such a prestigious tournament.

This year, Supreme remained proved well to be one of the Thailand’s strongest teams to be reckoned with. Spearheaded by three national players, Wilavan Apinyapong, Ajchachaporn Kongyot and Piyanut Pannoy, and strengthened by veteran Malika Kanthong, who, due to her injury, skipped some major tournaments last year including the FIVB World Grand Prix, Venezuelan middle-blocker Aleoscar Blanco and strongly-built American opposite spiker Sareea Freeman, Supreme retained their Thailand League crown and repeated the feat over Bangkok Glass to defend their Thai-Denmark Super League title.

In the 2018 Super League, Supreme kicked off their campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Khonkaen Star,  but lost in straight sets to Bangkok Glass to finish second in Pool A.

Supreme, under the close guidance of Thailand national team assistant coach Nataphon Srisamutnak, struggled to beat formidable Nakhon Ratchasima The Mall’s VC, powered by three national players including hard-hitting Onuma Sittirak and Chatchu-on Moksri, 3-2 in the semi-finals.

Against formidable Bangkok Glass, led by superstar spiker Pluemjit Thinkaow, setter Pronoun Guedpard, veteran libero Wanna Buakaew and Greek outside hitter Anna Maria Spanou in the Sunday’s finale, Supreme lost the first two sets 22-25 18-25, but regained their composure to fight back bravely to win the remaining three sets 25-18 25-10 16-14 to successfully retain their Super League crown.

After this, some players in the Supreme VC including Wilavan, Ajcharaporn, Malika and Piyanut are likely to join the Thailand national team in their preparation for daunting international tournaments including the Korea-Thailand Pro Volleyball All-Star Super Match on April 8, 2018 in Korea and the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in May and June.

After the Nations League, Supreme will resume their intensive full-team training in their final preparation for the 2018 Asian Women’s Club Championship in Kazakhstan, where they are due to strut their stuff against the other leading club teams from Asia.

Thailand’s title-holders Supreme are in Pool A with Japan and China. Pool B comprises hosts Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, Iran and Vietnam, while the Philippines, Indonesia, Fiji and Sri Lanka are in Pool C.

At the last year’s Asian Women’s Club Championship in Kazakhstan, Supreme stunned China’s Tianjin Bohai Bank 3-1 in the semi-finals before brushing off Japan’s Hisamiitsu Springs with the same margin in the final showdown to capture their debut Asian Club title.

Meanwhile, Nakhon Ratchasima The Mall’s VC, the men’s champions in the Thailand League which will represent Thailand in the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from July 30 to August 6, 2018, failed to make the cut for the final showdown of the Thai-Denmark Super League after going down 2-3 to arch rivals Air Force VC in the semi-finals. Air Force stormed on to beat Visakha in comfortable straight sets to capture the Super League title.

Asean teams have been invited to compete in the “Princess Cup” South East Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship from May 13 to 17 in Nakhon Pathom

ASEAN teams have been invited to compete in the “Princess Cup” South East Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship from May 13 to 17 in Nakhon Pathom, a warm-up tournament ahead of their participation in the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship three days later at the same competing venue.

The Asian meet, which will be held at the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Gymnasium in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand from May 20 to 27 will serve as the Asian Zone qualifying tournament to decide top four teams to make the cut for the next year’s FIVB Volleyball Women’s U18 World Championship, of which the host country has yet been announced.

The biennial Princess Cup invitational tournament has been hosted by Thailand for years. In the previous editions, teams invited included overseas clubs and unfancied national teams such as Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and India. The organisers just had their fingers crossed and hoped for the best that by competing in the tournament, the participating teams will be improving their tactics and techniques in leaps and bounds.

However, some few years ago, the rule and regulation for teams invited to the Princess Cup tournament have been changed. Two years ago, hosts Thailand organised the Princess Cup tournament in coincidence with the South East Asian Women’s U19 Championship in Si Sa Ket. This time, teams invited for the Princess Cup invitational tournament will be contested under the South East Asian Women’s U17 Championship in Nakhon Pathom.

According to AVC Secretary-General Mr Shanrit Wongprasert, the “Princess Cup” South East Asian Women’s U17 Championship will be held with an aim of allowing the lower-ranked teams chances of sharpening their skills ahead of  their participation in the Asian Women’s U17 Championship, which is due to be held at the same venue between May 20 and 27.

“A daunting task awaits all these teams in the Asian meet. By contesting the “Princess Cup” South East Asian Women’s U17 Championship, they will gain valuable competition experience which can become a good asset for their tougher task in the Asian meet. They can make it their final tune-up match ahead of the top-notch Asian Championship.” said Mr Shanrit.

He added that around 6-8 teams are expected to join the Princess Cup tournament and just three days later, they will next go up much stronger rivals in the Asian U17 Championship.