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Onuma
Bangkok, Thailand, September 25, 2009 Talented Onuma Sittirak is a key player of Thailands volleyball team who has already reached stardom following her brilliant performance in the recent 15th Asian Senior Womens Volleyball Championship in Hanoi, Vietnam, which won her the Most Valuable Player Award.
Onuma, who has been playing for the Zeiler Koniz Club in Switzerland in her second season, shone through her exceptional skills in the Asian meet, particularly her powerful jump serves and lightning-fast spikes. For such a splendid form, Onuma received a great round of applause from a large crowd of spectators at the Quan Ngua Competition Hall.
In the heart-pounding, hard-fought showdown against China , the FIVB world No.3 and 11-time champions, Thailand was spearheaded by a strong trio of spiking machines Wilavan Apinyapong, Malika Kanthong and Onuma.
The 23-year-old Onuma, who stands just 175cm tall and weighs 70kg, had turned an unforgettable nightmare for the Chinese blockers when she tore the Chinese defence into shreds with her devastating spikes. She led the Thai squad with 22 crucial points including 19 kills.
I have never thought that our team could win the championship. For Thailand , whose height average is just 176cm against China s 185cm, to make it to the final was already a terrific form beyond our initial expectation, said Onuma, the lone player from Nakhon Si Thammarat, a southern province of Thailand .
Following the 3-1 win over China , I was so surprised and could not believe my eyes. To be frank, I have always told myself China is unbeatable. The Chinese have all elements to win the championship. Their players are tall and very experienced. However, after we studied their tapes earlier, we all found that it was not an impossible mission in beating them.
Our head coach Kiattipong (Radchatagriengkai) and all staff coaches planned a brainstorming strategies in coping the Chinese tactics. We all also learned fast what our staff coaches had instructed us. We played consistently, attempting to refrain from making any hasty mistake. When we led China 2-1 sets, I think all the pressures then went to the Chinese.
However, despite the fact that we beat China to be crowned the Asian champions for the first time ever, we cant stop training. The teams losing to Thailand including Japan , Kazakhstan and China must go back and learn what was wrong with them. They will come back much stronger next time to avenge us. Therefore, we must be ready for any revenge. Also, we must train much harder and gain more experience and exposure from international competitions.
I dont think that our surprise win over China in the final of the Asian meet was fluke. The Chinese might be not at their best at that time, while Thai players played every part of the game well. We played without pressure. We played with nothing to lose. Thats what counts for the win.
As for the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup, I think its still too early to set any target. What I have learned so far is that all participating teams are very strong. If we can win even a single match can be a success. I hope my team-mates will join hands again to play our best in the championship. Staff coaches told us we are not the best team. We still need more to learn and climb to a spot where many top teams are now standing. Its not an easy mission, but one thing I know is that everyone in my team will try her best to make such a dream come true one day in the near future.
Onuma started playing volleyball when she was at 10. Earlier, she was a 100m and 200m sprinter in her school track and field team. I changed from running to volleyball just because I wanted to travel to provinces. I thought at that time if I became a volleyball player, I could accompany my team to compete in school tournaments in many provinces.
Onuma joined the Thailand national team for the first time in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha , Qatar , where they finished fourth to eventual winners China , Japan and Chinese Taipei respectively.
| Create Date : 16 มกราคม 2553 |
| Last Update : 16 มกราคม 2553 17:22:59 น. |
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