'Defeating Japan, then China in order': Thai actress leads women's team to back-to-back Asian Championship titles and direct Olympic qualification... Overcoming the '188cm Chinese' juggernaut with supreme organizational strength

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Thai Yeo Ja-bae-gu (CEO) team secured a historic first-ever Olympic berth by claiming the Asian title on foreign soil.

On the 30th, Thailand defeated host nation China in the final of the 2026 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women's Championship held at the Tianjin Olympic Center Gymnasium in China, winning with a set score of 3-2 (25-20, 11-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10).

Having achieved back-to-back tournament titles (their fourth overall championship), Thailand secured the sole direct Olympic berth allocated to Asia for the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics.

Ranked 17th in the world by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) prior to the tournament, Thailand sequentially defeated three East Asian nations: South Korea (28th) in the quarterfinals, Japan (6th) in the semifinals, and China (7th) in the final.

Notably, China's average height of 188.5cm was more than 10cm taller than Thailand's 178.3cm. However, even when trailing 1-2 in sets and facing defeat, Thailand staged a dramatic comeback victory through tenacious teamwork and defensive focus.

Sasipaporn Janta-wisut led the attack with a team-high 28 points, while captain and starting setter Fonpun Kupta was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP).

The Thai government has decided to award approximately 500 million won in prize money to the Gi Nyeom-hae (CEO) team for achieving Thailand's first-ever Olympic qualification in volleyball history.

This year's Asian Championship was particularly intense due to the qualification system for the LA Olympics. The 12-team LA Olympics allocates its 11 available spots (excluding host nation USA) through three methods. First, as seen in this tournament, the five continental championship winners each claim one spot, totaling five berths. Then, the top three teams from the 2027 FIVB World Cup and the top three teams based on the FIVB world rankings as of June next year will fill the remaining spots.

China, which finished second after losing in the final, and Japan, which defeated Iran in the third-place match to take third place, missed out on direct continental Olympic berths but secured spots in the 2027 FIVB World Cup, keeping their hopes for Olympic qualification alive.

In contrast, South Korea's national team, coached by Cha Sang-hyun, suffered a complete 0-3 defeat against Thailand in the quarterfinals, missing all opportunities. Having failed to secure one of the three World Cup berths allocated to the top three teams, they must now rely on remaining spots determined by world rankings. However, considering South Korea's current ranking of 28th, their chances of qualifying for the LA Olympics have become virtually slim.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original