Thailand make history and qualify for first Olympics after Asian title

Thai volleyball is set to experience a unique and long-awaited moment in two years as the country's women's national team qualified for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics after winning the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Asian Championship on Sunday.

The historic moment was consolidated with a dramatic 3-2 (25-20, 11-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10) victory over hosts China in the tournament's final in Tianjin, which also kept Thailand as the continental champions after they successfully defended the title they won in 2023. The two finalists qualified for the 2027 FIVB Volleyball World Cup.

• Watch the AVC Women's Volleyball Asian Championship replays on VBTV

In his second stint with the team, head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai was out of words after his team's incredible accomplishment.

"I see it as a miracle," he said. "It's fantastic. I'd like to thank all the players and the staff. This is our dream and our country's dream, to go to the Olympics. And now we got it, I can't believe it."

Thailand counted on an outstanding performance from outside hitter Sasipapron Janthawisut to come out on top in the rollercoaster that the gold medal match was. The 29-year-old delivered 28 points, with 25 kills and three aces, two of which were in a key moment in the fifth set.

Veteran middle blocker Thatdao Nuekjang also stepped up, scoring 18 points (11 kills, seven blocks), one more than outside hitter Chatchu-On Moksri.

China had outside hitters Zhuang Yushan and Wu Mengjie delivering 21 points each.

Pornpun is the MVP

The captain of the Thai national team, star setter Pornpun Guedpard was recognized as the Most Valuable Player in their campaign in Tianjin.

The 33-year-old veteran also made it to the tournament's Dream Team alongside opposite Yukiko Wada (Japan), outside hitters Zhuang (China) and Sasipapron (Thailand), middle blockers Wang Yuanyuan (China) and Thatdao (Thailand) and libero Wang Mengjie (China).

"This is a big moment for our country," Pornpun Guedpard remarked. "This is a dream coming true. Holding the ticket to LA 2028 was unbelievable. I had a feeling that we could win, and after we lost the third set, I just told our players to be themselves. I didn't care if we'd win or lose. I just wanted us to play a fun game and to play together."

Japan claim third World Cup spot

The highest-ranked Asian national team in the FIVB World Ranking, Japan secured the continent's third spot in the 2027 World Cup by taking bronze in the Asian Championship.

Defeated by Thailand in the semifinals, the Japanese bounced back and downed Iran 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 26-24) in the third-place match.

Opposite Yukiko Wada was Japan's leading scorer in the match with 19 points (15 kills, two blocks, two aces) - middle blocker Haruyo Shimamura added 14 (12 kills, two blocks). Opposite Elaheh Poor Saleh registered 15 points (14 kills, one block) for Iran, who appeared in the Asian Championship semifinals for the first time in history.

"Of course we're happy that we managed to win today, but we couldn't get where we wanted here," captain and outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa said.

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