Players and staff of the Thai women’s volleyball team arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan on Monday night, where fans gathered to welcome them home after their crucial victory secured a place at the 2028 Olympic Games.
The national team arrived at 9.50pm on Thai Airways International flight TG615 from Beijing.
Supporters and sports executives were at the airport for a welcoming ceremony for the team after their success in the AVC Women’s Volleyball Asian Championship in Tianjin, a city southeast of the Chinese capital.
Thailand defeated China 3-2 in the final to successfully defend the Asian title they won in 2023, when they also beat China 3-2 in Nakhon Ratchasima.
This latest victory secured Thailand’s place at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, marking the first time in the country’s team-sports history that a national team has qualified for the Olympics.
‘They have brought happiness to Thais across the country,’ Somporn Chaibangyang, president of the Thailand Volleyball Association, said on Monday.
Each player will receive 600,000 baht in cash, while team staff will receive 840,000 baht from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports for winning another Asian title. The Thailand Volleyball Association will contribute an additional 2.52 million baht to the team.
The team will leave for Fukuoka, Japan, on Thursday for a training camp before joining the Asian Games in Nagoya, which will run from Sept 19 to Oct 4.
Thailand led Pool C, which includes Taiwan – officially called Chinese Taipei at Asian sporting events – Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.