Thai Women's Volleyball Coach On Next Level After Asian Games Bronze
Thailand's women's volleyball team won bronze at the Asian Games, defeating South Korea 3-0, with head coach Kiatphong Ratchateraigkai emphasizing the team's professional development and world-class level of play as they prepare for the Oly
Head coach Kiatphong Ratchateraigkai of Thailand's national women's volleyball team spoke after the team defeated South Korea 3-0 in the third-place playoff at the Asian Games to win the bronze medal. "I won't give myself a rating," the coach said. "Seeing the athletes happy and in good form makes me happy too. Having athletes reach a higher level on the world stage is what I want as a coach. Having a capable coaching staff working at world-class standards is a good reward for me. And helping bring joy to Thai people—seeing Thai people happy makes me happy as well."
When asked if this is the best time to coach the national team, he said: "Our goal is the Olympics. Winning the Asian championship for the third time as a coach, plus once by Coach Duang and throughout the 20-year partnership with Coach Ya who has always been by my side—we've worked hard together and built this team. Every player on this team has trained and learned under us. We know each other, support each other. I'm grateful to both Coach Ya and Coach Duang for their major contributions from the past to now. The current team has learned to work professionally as a strong unit. I'm proud of everyone."
Regarding what the team gained from the Asian Games, Coach Kiatphong said: "It was a valuable experience. We played teams with diverse tactics in different rounds. The semi-final matchup was particularly important. The match against China was world-class level—their serving, blocking, and counterattacks were all excellent and successful. These are world-class strengths. Anyone who played or watched yesterday's match knows it was high-quality volleyball. We need to develop our blocking game, our receiving, and our counterattacks. This will be valuable for our youth players who competed this time, and for young players watching the match. I believe coaches of young players will have the opportunity to learn and teach world-class techniques."
Addressing the athletes, he said: "Thank you to all of you. I spoke this morning already. Thank you to the entire team and all the athletes for your love and dedication to our team. Everyone played for the team, we played for our goal. This year we've built Team Thailand from the start. Everyone shares the same goal and has dedicated themselves truly to our team. This shows unity, love, and solidarity—and we're ready for even greater challenges ahead."
