BANGKOK, Oct 15 (The Nation Thailand/ANN): The Thailand women’s volleyball team was on Friday night (Oct 14) awarded 10 million baht (RM1.23 million) for their impressive performances on the global stage this year.
The end-of-season awards ceremony was held by the Thailand Volleyball Association (TVA) at Golden Tulip Sovereign Hotel in Bangkok, as a morale boost and reward for athletes, coaches and staffers who represented Thailand in international tournaments this year.
TVA honorary president Phalakorn Suwannarat said the association had received around 16 million baht in sponsorship from the National Sports Development Fund, Sports Authority of Thailand, and private corporations this year.
“We decided to reward the women’s national volleyball team with 10 million baht for their outstanding achievements in 2022,” he said.
Thailand’s spikers began the year by winning the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam in May, grabbing their 13th consecutive title and 15th overall.
In July, the team made history by qualifying for the final round of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League for the first time before finishing eighth.
August saw the team finish third in the 2022 Asian Women's Volleyball Cup in the Philippines, before winning the Asean Grand Prix Women's Volleyball Invitational 2022 held in Nakhon Ratchasima.
The Thai spikers then excelled at this month’s FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Poland and the Netherlands, qualifying for the second round and beating Turkey, Croatia, South Korea and Dominican Republic before finally settling for 15th place.
Next year’s calendar features six major events – the SEA Games, Nations League, Asian Women's Volleyball Cup, 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers, Asean Grand Prix, and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
Friday’s awards ceremony was also broadcast live on Zoom so that volleyball fans could join in and congratulate their favourite players. - The Nation Thailand/ANN
