We arrived in sticky hot Thailand at the huge new Bangkok airport on Saturday and after spending 4 hours at the airport for a total of 23.5 hrs travel time, finally sunk into our beds at the Phatthalung beach resort.

On day 1 we trained with Japan (Kimura and Suzuki - great blokes!) and got reminded how hot it is here. Yep, just as hot as last time Seany!

Day 2 was the first day of competition and after an easy win over Malaysia two we had a stunning win over the number 1 seeds Andy and Koko from Indonesia (aVc’s words, not mine, check the original news. It was 24-22, 24-22).

Thailand 2 brought us back down to earth early on day 3. We seemed to have nothing for their big blocking and awesome ball control and lost in two sets. That one loss set us up for a long hot day of 4 games, and we were hurting! at about 10:30 - the hottest time of the day in my opinion - we played Thailand 1, and things didn’t look good. After losing the first set 15-21 we were down in the second by a few, and I was hurting from the heat. Right now it was so close to being all over, but somehow we battled on. It was time to go to the floaters and pulling as much as possible, and the Thais didn’t like that at all. We saved the second set 21-19 and then took control in the third, well, as controlled as a 22-20 third set can be! The beautiful thing about these tournaments is the lunch breaks, so Duck and I took refuge and an hour of sleep before coming back for smooth straight sets wins over New Zealand 1 and Indonesia 2 in the cool afternoon breeze.

Finals day. Our semi was against Iran - an unexpected finalist with unorthodox style, but solid skills. They were too good for us and we went down in two sets. I forget the score, but in the end it was a real close batle, 21-19 in the second. We played off for bronze against China 2, and again went down in two sets, 21-19 in the second. It was two close hard games, and Duck and I were satisfied with 4th place, a good effort, and good competition. See the aVc for final placings and a nice photo of a diving Duck!

I’d say that this is the first time we’ve played so strongly for a long period of time: 8 games in three days! We really worked together as a team and adapted well to expose oppositions weaknesses. Time for a well earnt break before stepping it up a level when competition kicks off in Songkhla in two days for the Asian Championships.
More photos at flickr.
Brad