Thailand's women's volleyball team sets its 2026 goals to compete in three major tournaments: the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), the Asian Championship, and the Asian Games.
On 26 Dec 2025 GMT+7, “Coach Odd” Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai, head coach of the Thai national team, revealed the women's team goals for 2026 after a tough 2025 season, which nearly saw them relegated from the 2025 VNL. The 2026 calendar includes three key events: the 2026 Women's Volleyball Nations League, the Asian Championship (which offers a chance to qualify for the 2025 Olympics), and the Asian Games in Japan.
Starting with the first event of 2026, the VNL, scheduled around June to July, Coach Odd said, “We need to improve our ranking because the competition has 18 teams, and the lowest-ranked team will be relegated. Our goal is to stay in and perform as well as possible. Usually, we rank around 10th to 12th place, and we will strive to maintain or improve that.”
This year, we almost missed staying up due to several factors, including some players not being fully fit, multiple injuries, and limited team training time. The system adjustments were also not fully synchronized.
However, I believe this year we adjusted better and settled in more effectively. I think everyone can perform better in the VNL competition, which will have about 4 to 5 weeks of team preparation before it begins. Although this is not a long time, we will do our best.
Regarding the Asian Championship, Coach Odd confirmed they will use their best players and set a goal to finish in the top three to secure a ticket to the 2027 World Championship. As for winning the championship or qualifying for the Olympics, that is very challenging due to strong opponents, especially China, which will host the event, and Japan, who are also very strong. Still, we will give our all and compete against every team, not just those two, as all teams have improved. We must put forth our best effort.
To close the year, at the 2026 Asian Games, Coach Odd aims for a top-three finish and to win a medal. However, he believes even finishing in the top four will be difficult. He noted that Japan will be very strong since they are the host country.