Thailand’s women’s volleyball team is going to the Olympics

Thailand’s women’s volleyball team is finally going to the Olympics.

They qualified for Los Angeles 2028 by beating host China 3-2 in the final of the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Continental Championship in Tianjin on August 30th. It will be the first Olympic appearance in the history of Thailand’s women’s national volleyball team.

The match

Source: FIVB Official Website

It took a comeback. Thailand took the opening set 25-20. China answered with the next two, 25-11 and 25-23. Then Thailand forced a fifth set by winning the fourth 25-18 and closed it out 15-10.

The final point tally across five sets: Thailand 99, China 98.

Outside hitter Sasipaporn Janthawisut led the match with 28 points (25 attacks, three aces). Thatdao Nuekjang added 18, including seven blocks. Chatchu-On Moksri had 17.

The win also gave Thailand its fourth Asian title. They’d previously taken the continental championship in 2009, 2013, and 2023, and came into Tianjin as defending champions.

Years of near misses

Source: FIVB Official Website

The Olympics had stayed just out of reach even as Thailand became one of Asia’s stronger teams. They finished just outside qualification for Athens 2004. Their bid for Rio 2016 included the controversial five-set loss to Japan, when Thailand led 12-6 in the deciding set before falling 15-13. They got close again ahead of Tokyo 2020, reaching the final of the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament before losing to South Korea.

Much of Thailand’s rise was built around the group known as the “Fab Six”: Nootsara Tomkom, Pleumjit Thinkaow, Wilavan Apinyapong, Onuma Sittirak, Malika Kanthong, and Amporn Hyapha. By 2026, a new group had finally got the job done.

Source: FIVB Official Website

There was extra weight on this tournament. Under the LA28 qualification system, the 2026 continental champions earned direct Olympic berths. Thailand’s win closed a chapter that previous teams had come close to but never finished.

Thailand went undefeated in its preliminary pool against Australia, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan before beating Japan in the semifinal, which also secured a place at the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup. Then came China, with both the Asian title and an Olympic ticket at stake.

Thailand will make its Olympic volleyball debut in Los Angeles in 2028. The Games run July 14th to 30th, with the women’s volleyball tournament featuring 12 teams.