Thai women's volleyball team works miracles.

Against the world's 12th-ranked Canadian team, the Thai women's volleyball team fought tenaciously, earning crucial points to successfully avoid relegation in the FIVB Nations League (VNL).

Thailand (in red shirts) celebrates after their match against Canada - Photo: FIVB

Thailand entered the "final" match against the Canadian women's volleyball team on the morning of July 14th. This was a crucial match for the Thai women's volleyball team, as they were at the bottom of the VNL standings for the 2025 season at that time.

Prior to this match, Thailand had suffered two consecutive defeats against Germany and the Dominican Republic. After 11 rounds, they had only managed one win and nine sets in the VNL 2025.

Meanwhile, South Korea unexpectedly won two sets against Bulgaria (losing 2-3 overall), thus overtaking Thailand and pushing them to the bottom of the table after the 11th round. In the 12th round, South Korea lost 0-3 to France, giving Thailand, who played later in the final round, a slim chance of survival.

Both Asian teams had one win each this season, and the same match score of 5 points. Prior to the final match, Thailand lagged behind South Korea on tie-breaking criteria – having won only 9 games compared to South Korea's 11.

Established in 2018, the Vietnam League (VNL) initially did not apply relegation to "core teams" like Thailand. However, from the 2025 season onwards, the league expanded to 18 teams with a rule that the last-placed team would be relegated.

Thailand is therefore under a lot of pressure; they are playing much worse than in previous years, consistently losing badly whenever they face strong teams. Being eliminated from the VNL would be a painful blow to Thailand, as their women's volleyball team has shown world- class levels for many years.

And then in the final match, Thailand pulled off a miracle. They won the first set 25-17, before losing the next two sets 23-25 ​​and 28-30.

With such a narrow defeat, the Thai volleyball girls seemed on the verge of collapse. If they lost the fourth set, they would certainly be ranked below South Korea.

But then, at the crucial moment, Coach Kiattipong's players staged a comeback, ultimately winning the fourth set dramatically 25-23.

Thailand lost the fifth set 13-15, resulting in a 2-3 overall defeat. However, this result still earned Thailand one point in the match.

In the end, Thailand had the same number of wins (10 wins) and 11 sets as South Korea, but they had more match points (6 compared to 5), thus spectacularly overtaking their opponent.

Thus, South Korea will be eliminated from the VNL 2026 season, while Thailand will continue to remain in this world-class competition.

Aside from the World Championships, the VNL is considered the biggest tournament in the volleyball system. Staying in this annual competition is very significant for the Thai women's team in their goal of reaching world-class status.

VNL rankings are based on the number of wins, then match points, win/loss ratio, and head-to-head results...

A 3-0 or 3-1 win earns 3 points. A 3-2 win earns 2 points, while a 2-3 loss earns 1 point. In this tournament, Thailand earned 6 points thanks to a 3-1 victory over France, along with three 2-3 losses against Japan, Bulgaria, and Canada.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bong-chuyen-nu-thai-lan-lam-nen-dieu-ky-dieu-20250714104059708.htm