Vietnam's women's volleyball team's 'secret weapon' revealed after convincing victory over Myanmar.

Ánh Thảo possesses a playing style that is compared to that of Ngọc Hoa, the former star of Vietnamese women's volleyball (photo TTO).

The 33rd SEA Games kicked off with challenging predictions for the Vietnamese women's volleyball team. Host nation Thailand openly expressed their ambition to maintain their number one position, while coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet's team was without their star hitter, Bich Tuyen.

And instead of calling up another well-known face, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team gave an opportunity to a completely new name, Bui Thi Anh Thao. Thai media, which closely follows Vietnamese volleyball, were also surprised by this decision.

However, the opening match against Myanmar on December 10th somewhat showed that the women's volleyball team is taking purposeful steps. Anh Thao displayed promising qualities in the match where the coaching staff gave her a chance, while also preserving key players including outside hitter Tran Thi Thanh Thuy.

Ánh Thảo (center) marked her first SEA Games appearance with a quality debut against Myanmar (photo MD).

The athlete, currently representing Hanoi Tasco, delivered an impressive performance (scoring 9 points), with excellent blocking and first-touch reception. For her age of 16, Anh Thao possesses good jumping ability and powerful spikes.

The most surprising aspect of Ánh Thảo's playing style, besides her sharp tactical thinking, is her confidence and composure on the court. She integrates very quickly with the more experienced senior players.

In fact, despite her young age, Anh Thao has already gained experience through major tournaments such as the U20 Asian Championship and the U21 World Championship, and recently contributed to Hanoi Women's Volleyball Club winning the A-League championship and gaining promotion to the National Championship.

Of course, Myanmar is a weaker opponent compared to the Vietnamese team, and Anh Thao still needs a lot of time to mature. Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet also said that Anh Thao needs to continue focusing on her skills to gain more experience. But the emergence of young talents shows that the Vietnamese women's volleyball team already has "reserves" for the future.

Watch SEA Games 33, stand alongside the Vietnamese Sports Delegation, in its entirety onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://tienphong.vn/lo-dien-cua-de-danh-cua-bong-chuyen-nu-viet-nam-sau-chien-thang-thuyet-phuc-truoc-myanmar-post1803636.tpo