Vinh Phuc Gymnasium, the competition venue for the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Championship early this year, becomes a battleground for the three-day tournament
Just one week after the two-leg, four-team Southeast Asian Men’s Volleyball League (SEA V. League) came to a close in Philippines with Indonesia winning back-to-back titles, volleyball enthusiasts are now turning their attention to the dispute for gold medal among the women’s quartet.
Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines will compete in the third edition of the SEA V. League (formerly known as Asean Grand Prix), with Thailand, the world No.15 and consecutive 14-time Southeast Asian Games gold medallists, back to defend their titles achieved in both editions.
The women’s event will be split into two legs, with the first one being held from August 4 to 6 at Vinh Phuc Gymnasium in Vietnam, the competition venue for the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Championship, which was won by Vietnam women’s national team played under the Sport Center 1’s banner.
The second leg will take place between August 11 and 13 at the 3,000-seater gymnasium inside the 700th Anniversary Chiang Mai Sports Complex in Chiang Mai, a captivating city nestled in the scenic mountains of Northern Thailand with an approximate distance of 700km north of Bangkok.
In the inaugural edition in 2019, Thailand stamped their authority in the first leg on home soil in Nakhon Ratchasima, followed by Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.
The second leg on the same year in Santa Rosa, Philippines saw Thailand repeat the similar feat, while the following positions remained unchanged with Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam coming in second, third and fourth places respectively.
Only one leg was held in the second edition in Nakhon Ratchasima in 2022. Hosts Thailand still proved too strong for their lower-ranked opponents to reign supreme, while hard-hitting Tran Thi Thanh Thuy steered Vietnam to the second-place finish. Indonesia came in third place, with Philippines in fourth position.
In the third edition this time, the Thailand team remained strong with the likes of six key players who in the previous season had competed in overseas leagues: Chatchu-On Moksri and Ajcharaporn Kongyot from Turkish League, Pimpichaya Kokram, Thatdao Nuekjang and Thanacha Sooksod from Japan League and setter Pornpun Guedpard, who made her presence felt in Romania.
For the Thailand team, the SEA V. League campaign serves as the tune-up matches in…
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