Thai Volleyball Captain Tears Up After Quarterfinal Exit
Thailand's men's volleyball captain Bunyarit Vongthon wept after the team lost 0-3 to Australia in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Asian Championship in Japan, ending their bid to reach the semifinals for the first time.
Thailand's men's volleyball team captain Bunyarit Vongthon gave an emotional interview after the squad lost to Australia 0-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship in Japan. After the match, Bunyarit spoke through tears, admitting he felt disappointed because the team had set its sights on reaching the semifinals for the first time but failed to achieve it. "I think we weren't sharp enough," Bunyarit said. "They made simple mistakes that we should have capitalized on, but we couldn't in each match. When we fail on the first ball, it gets harder to play. I tried my best to set the ball well, but I still made mistakes. I wanted to win—it's regrettable—but there's nothing we could do about it. I wanted to get through at least once, wanted to make it happen, but we couldn't. We need to keep improving. It's quite difficult, otherwise we won't get past this. I'm not blaming anyone. If we lost, we lost together. Let's keep fighting." The 28-year-old volleyball player also posted a brief message on Facebook saying "We did our best" amid an outpouring of encouragement from fans.
