Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, January 6, 2020 - The coaches of hosts Thailand, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Iran, Kazakhstan, Australia and Indonesia all expect tough matches when their teams compete for a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games at the AVC Women’s Tokyo Volleyball Qualification tournament from January 7 to 12 at Chatchai Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Australia Head Coach Martin Collins: "This is actually a very important tournament and we are happy to make it this far. We had a small training everyday in Bangkok and back in Australia as well before coming here. We have some players who play all around the world so we decided to come together for short preparation. We expect tough matches and let’s see how well we can perform."
Indonesia Head Coach Octavian Octavian: "I hope my team can show their best performance in this tournament to compete against the others."
The coaches pose for a group photo during the press conference at Sima Thani hotel in Nakhon Ratchasima
Iran Head Coach Mitra Shabanian: "I am glad that we can play in this event as my team are young and I hope that they will get a good learning experience from this tournament."
Kazakhstan Head Canbolat Burhan Saik: "We have trained together for the last two weeks and we came here yesterday. We are ready for this tournament. I think every team has the same goal and we hope that we will have a good result."
Korea Head Coach Stefano Lavarini: "Thank you for the warm welcome. Our captain Kim Yeon Koung just joined the team last week. We will try to keep our physical fitness in best condition as our goal is to qualify for the Olympics again."
Chinese Taipei Head Coach Koji Tsuzurabara: "We have a really young team so our expectations are not that high. But we hope that we can show our best in this tournament."
Thailand Head Coach Danai Sriwacharamaytakul: "Welcome to Nakhon Ratchsima. I think that for this competition every team has good preparation because it is a very important tournament. All the teams would like to get the one ticket on offer for the Olympics. Every team is ready and our team is too. We will focus one match at a time and we will try to do our best in this tournament."