Crisis or merely a test? An in-depth look at 4 years of Thai women's volleyball: From the highest peak to the nightmare of "losing to Vietnam" and the shaken SEA Games throne.
The Thai women's volleyball scene from 2022 to 2025 resembled a roller coaster, with soaring moments that earned global fan recognition and plunges culminating in a loss to Vietnam. This period saw a coaching transition from Coach Duan to Coach Ya, followed by the return of the master who shaped the '7 Masters,' Coach Odd.
The Coach Duan era (2022 – early 2024). This era, succeeding the '7 Masters,' began promisingly with an 8th place finish at VNL 2022 and the 2023 Asian Championship title. The team's strength was "speed," focusing on very low and fast sets to outpace opponents' blocks.
However, over time, opponents adapted by employing "deep defense" and "targeted serving" to disrupt Thailand's fast play. Additionally, the accelerated system caused Thai players to make more errors.
Coach Duan (Danai Sriwatcharamethakul) often relied on the same six starters for extended periods, leading to visible fatigue late in tournaments. His system depended heavily on precise first-ball plays; when opponents pressured and broke these plays, his system quickly collapsed.
The Coach Ya era (mid-2024). Coach Ya (Nataphon Srisamutnak) was appointed shortly before the 2024 VNL with the main mission of improving the world ranking to secure a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
However, the 2024 VNL results under Coach Ya were heavily criticized as the team suffered consecutive losses in the early weeks, including defeats to lower-ranked teams.
On-court adjustments were slow, and the use of substitutes failed to change the game's momentum, leading fans to feel the team was "stagnating" while rivals like Japan and China surged ahead. Despite underwhelming results, Coach Ya's era saw some new young players gaining world-level experience.
The Coach Odd era. (Late 2024 – present). The return of Thai volleyball master Coach Odd (Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai) brought hope to restore confidence but coincided with the team's toughest period. The 2025 VNL became a nightmare, with Thailand finishing 17th out of 18 teams—the lowest ranking in years—and nearly facing relegation.
The most damaging event was the first-ever loss to Vietnam in the 2025 SEA V.League, raising questions about whether Vietnam had rapidly improved to catch up or Thailand's development had stalled significantly.
Moreover, at the 2025 SEA Games hosted by Thailand, their long-held gold medal dominance was nearly lost. In the final against Vietnam, the Thai women had to fight intensely until the 5th set, narrowly winning 25-23. The dominant 3-0 victories of the past became a distant memory.
Strengths fading, weaknesses unresolved.
Strength: The experience of players competing in professional leagues (Japan, Europe) still anchors the team during crises.
Weaknesses: Clearly inferior blocking, ineffective serving that fails to pressure opponents, and most critically, unresolved issues with the first ball reception.
To return to the world’s Top 15 and pull ahead of Vietnam again, continuing with the current coaching system may not suffice. Fans are calling for a "foreign coach," inspired by the men's team’s success under Coach Park Ki-won, hoping a foreign coach can introduce data-driven methods, solid defense, and sharp European-style offense, or restore precise first-ball fundamentals in the Japanese style.