Asian women's volleyball teams had an unsuccessful start at VNL 2026

Two-thirds of Asian representatives faced losses on the opening day of this year's VNL.

The world's most prestigious international volleyball tournament at the national team level - VNL 2026 officially kicked off on June 3 at various locations worldwide. Here, the Asian representatives did not have the start they had hoped for.

The only Southeast Asian team to have ever participated in the VNL - Thailand - could not spring a surprise against Serbia, losing 0-3 (24-26, 22-25, 19-25). Ajcharaporn Kongyot and her teammates had a chance to win the first set but failed to capitalize, even losing three consecutive points as Serbia took a 1-0 lead, and then... there was no going back.

No Thai player scored more than 10 points in this match; three players tied for the team's lead: young star Papatchaya Phontham and two mainstays Sasipapron Janthasiwut and Pimpichaya Kokram (7 points each). On the other side, Aleksandra Uzelac shone with 17 points.

The biggest surprise was China losing 0-3 (20-25, 20-25, 24-26) to the Czech Republic, despite playing at home in Week 1 of this year's VNL. Captain Gong Xiangyu scored only 6 points; the most impressive player for the hosts in the heavy loss was Xin Tang with 18 points.

A great match for the Czech Republic, with two attacking forces: captain Michaela Mlejnkova and opposite Monika Brancuska scoring 18 and 17 points respectively. The veteran spiker who played for Geleximco Hung Yen at the end of the 2025 season - Helena Grozer also left her mark with 10 points.

The only Asian representative to achieve victory was Japan, winning 3-1 (23-25, 25-12, 25-22, 25-13) against France. Lilou Ratahiry's 8 points helped France spring a surprise in set 1, but Japan bounced back strongly as their attacking trio: Yoshino Sato, Mayu Ishikawa, and Yukiko Wada together shone with a total of 45 points, with "beauty" Sato being the most impressive with 18 points.

In the next round of VNL 2026, Thailand will have a notable match against China on the evening of June 4, while Japan will face Ukraine in the early morning of June 6 Vietnam time.