From left, coaches from Vietnam, DPR Korea, Korea, Thailand and Iran pose after the tournament's General Technical Meeting
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, September 19, 2017 - The head coaches from Korea, DPR Korea, Iran, Vietnam and Thailand shared their thoughts ahead of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Japan 2018 Asian Qualifiers Pool B tournament scheduled to take place in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand from September 20 to 24.
The top two teams from the tournament will join the best two teams from Pool A in Kazakhstan - also taking place from September 20 to 24 - to represent Asia in next year’s World Championship Finals in Japan from September 29 to October 20, 2018.
Qualification process - Click here.DPR Korea head coach Chung Song said: “My players have gathered to train as a team for 30-40 days. We will do our best in this tournament.”
Korea coach Hong Sungjin said: “After the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup in Japan, we had a hard time to prepare for this tournament. But 70 per cent of our best players are with us. We trained hard and hope to make a good match against DPR Korea in our first match on Wednesday.”
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Latest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia GuidesVietnam head coach Japanese Irisawa Hidehiro said: “We have much younger players in the team this time, not like the squad which competed in the SEA Games in Malaysia and the Asian Championship in the Philippines. However, I hope that the young players will combine well with the experienced ones to make the team much stronger. Our goal is to qualify for the World Championship Finals.”
Iran head coach Mirmostafa Shojael said: “I have just taken over the position as the head coach for the Iran women’s national team for three months. After taking part in the Asian Senior Women’s Championship in the Philippines, we decided to renew the composition of the young players and youth team from the age groups with 60 per cent of them to play here. We are working with the young generation.
“Talking about our expectationw in this tournament, I would like to mention the target of the IRIVF (Islamic Republic of Iran Volleyball Federation). This is the tournament that Iran will focus on its young players. So, the standard of Thailand and Korea is much higher than us, but we just want to gain much more experience and prove ourselves in Asia. However, the long-term target of the IRIVF is to finish among the top four in Asia - as the Iranian men’s team are current world No.7 and show their strength in Asia. We just would like to get improvement the same way as the Iranian men’s team, but in this tournament, we’re just thinking about gaining more experience.”
Thailand head coach Danai Sriwacharamaytakul said: “We tried to focus on adjustment to the court conditions and also on improving communications between setter and spikers. Generally, I think my players are in good shape, physically and mentally. After completion of the Division A Thailand Championship, my players are in a recuperation phase. What they need is more strength and power.”
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