In front of a packed home Vietnamese crowd, the Thais remained cool under pressure to deliver gold - being swift and decisive in their attacks and proving too strong for the host nation
PHOTO: CHERYL TAY, SPORTPLUS.SG
Headlined by volleyball stars Pimpichaya Kokram, Thatdao Nuekjang and Hattaya Bamrungsuk, the Thailand Women's Volleyball team stormed to another SEA Games gold medal at Halong Bay in May, dispatching hosts Vietnam 25-20, 25-14, 25-14 at the Đại Yên Sports Arena.
It was the thirteenth consecutive SEA Games gold medal for the women's volleyball team, in an unbeaten streak and run that stretches all the way back to the 1995 SEA Games in Chiang Mai, when they hosted the regional Games on home soil.
PHOTO: CHERYL TAY, SPORTPLUS.SG
Played in a round-robin format, the 31st SEA Games women's indoor volleyball competition comprised five competing nations, with the top two countries qualifying for the gold medal match, and the third and fourth making the bronze medal play-offs.
PHOTO: CHERYL TAY, SPORTPLUS.SG
Entering the final as group winners, the Thais boasted a perfect winning record from the group stages winning all four matches, defeating the Philippines 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-14), Indonesia 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-14), Vietnam 3-1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-17, 25-23), and Malaysia 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-12).
In front of a packed home Vietnamese crowd, the Thais remained cool under pressure to deliver gold - being swift and decisive in their attacks and proving too strong for the host nation.
PHOTO: CHERYL TAY, SPORTPLUS.SG
Thailand’s iconic number 16 Pimpichaya Kokram was undoubtedly one of the players of the tournament en route to gold, as the Kurobe AquaFairies player lived up to her billing as one of the tournament’s top opposite spikers, leaping highest to deliver crucial points from the group stages through to the final point of a pulsating final to add a fourth SEA Games gold medal to her trophy cabinet.
PHOTO: CHERYL TAY, SPORTPLUS.SG
Her role was made easier with support from two towering blockers in the form of 28 year-old Thatdao Nuekjang, winner of the Best Middle Blocker title in the 2020 Thai League; and Hattaya Bamrungsuk who plies her trade in the Japanese Volleyball league with Toyota Auto Body Queenseis, both double SEA Games gold medallists before the Vietnam Games.
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