Thailand’s women’s volleyball team had left Tokyo’s Olympic qualifiers, in tears in 2016 after a technical glitch surrounding an electronic tablet used for substitutions. The Thai coach’s subs simply did not beep on the referee’s desk so the substitutions were disallowed. When he tried to verbally communicate he copped a red card, and the team lost a crucial lead in the decisive fifth set. It was one amongst a series of heartbreaks.However on Sunday at Tianjing, China, Thailand women’s volleyball made up for years of near-misses as it finally secured Olympic qualification for LA 2028 completing one of the most dramatic loops in history of volleyball. Thailand defeated hosts China 3-2 in the final of the AVC Women’s Continental Championship to earn the LA berth, and it prompted widespread celebrations across the country.It was announced that each member of the squad would receive 600,000 baht (17 lac 24 thousand Rs) while actor and TV host Rusameekae “Kae” Fagerlund declared he would make good on the promise of running 100 laps around Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram in Bangkok.)The Thaiger quoted his FB post as saying, “A promise is a promise. I will run 100 laps around Wat Phra Kaew. I checked, one lap is 2 kilometres, so that means I have to run a total of 200 kilometres. I will break it down into segments, which might take about two months to complete. Ultimately, this run will be incredibly worthwhile.”View this post on InstagramThe large scale outpouring of emotion was owing to Thailand’s painful past where Olympic qualification has eluded the women’s team over and over again. And then some.In 2016, during the tense fifth set against hosts Jaoan, controversy had struck cruelly as the tech glitched and Rio De Janeiro was snatched away from them, leaving a scar akin to South Africa’s 1992 WC exit in cricket for men.The deep scars only healed on Sunday after Thailand defeated the continent’s two traditional powers in semis (Japan) and finals (China).Story continues below this adThe decades preceding had been heart wrenching. The quest had started in 2008 when the team brimmed with promising talent, but couldn’t make the cut. In 2012, Thailand were oh-so-close winning four of theor seven matches in the qualifying tournament, but Japan’s five-set loss to Serbia created mathematical chaos of the set-ratio calculations and cost Thailand qualifying.Post Rio, Thailand played the final Asian qualification tournament in Nakhon Ratchasima, in what was the Swanson for a venerated generation of fighters called ‘Seven Legends’ according to The Thailand Nation. It ended in a 3-0 defeat to South Korea. Ahead of Paris, Thailand beat Poland, Slovenia and Colombia in the qualifying tournament, finishing fifth in its group. But China and Japan later leant on their world rankings to make the Olympics.It was the mid-generation who took over from veterans and experienced the highs abd lows and were joined by the new crop that eventually courted eventual success on Sunday. Player development had eschewed brutal changes and eased transition from its veteran stars to a new generation as coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai was succeeded by Danai Sriwatcharamethakul, who carried the upskilling before Nataphon Srisamutnak took charge in 2024.However it was the same red carded coach Kiattipong, who returned for a second spell with the mission of finally taking Thailand to the Olympics ten years after the cruel exit. “It’s a miracle,” he said.Story continues below this adIn the interim, Thailand made last 8 of the Volleyball Nations League’s final eight in 2022, its best result in the competition and stayed consistent at securing Asian medals.Thailand were defending champions but knew China and Japan would come prepared to stake Oly qualification. One loss was avenged when they won quarterfinals 3-0 against South Korea, a team that had ended Thailand’s Tokyo Olympic hopes in 2020. Then Japan was taken out 3-1, as emotions roiled from a decade ago.A raucous home crowd cheering for China posed a formidable challenge. But Thailand bounced back ftom falling behind in the match dropping the third set, and forced a decider fifth set, before rallying back to a historic 3-2 win.32-year-old MVP Pornpun Guedpard told Olympic.com, “This is a big moment for our country. This is a dream coming true. Holding the ticket to LA 2028 was unbelievable. I had a feeling that we could win, and after we lost the third set, I just told our players to be themselves. I didn’t care if we’d win or lose. I just wanted us to play a fun game and to play together.”Story continues below this adIt was their fourth Asian Championship title aftwr 2009, 2013 and 2023, but one that gained them Olympic qualification.‘Each of the 14 Thai players would receive 600,000 baht, amounting to 8.4 million baht. The coaching staff would receive 840,000 baht, while the sports association would receive 2.52 million baht. The total proposed reward package is therefore 11.76 million baht,’ Thai media reported.*”*”*