The 14th Asian Senior Women's Volleyball Championship kicked off
Wednesday at the Mall's MCC Hall in Thailand's northeastern
province Nakhon Ratchasima, with 13 teams participating in the
nine-day Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) event.
There are four preliminary round groups. Thailand plays
Australia in the opening match Wednesday. The host team is assured
of a place in the second round as there are only two teams in their
Group A, after the withdrawal of Tajikistan.
Thai team coach Nataphon Srisumutnak was quoted by local media
as saying that he hoped his side finished in the top four and
secured a spot in the 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament.
In other groups for the curtain-raiser, Vietnam plays Sri Lanka,
New Zealand meets Chinese Taipei, South Korea faces Indonesia,
Japan takes on Uzbekistan while Kazakhstan plays Iran.
The Iranian women's volleyball team is expected to catch much
spotlight as this is their debut international tournament after a
30-year absence, with a unique Islamic dressing code.
China, which has captured the crown for a consecutive 10 times
since its first victory in 1987, is widely expected to stretch its
dominance this time.
Top three teams in the event (except China and Japan) will
qualify for the world Olympic qualification tournament in Japan
next May.
(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2007)