Following Vietnam's disqualification and subsequent drop to the bottom of Group A, the remaining teams moved up in the rankings. Argentina remained at the top, followed by Serbia, Indonesia, and Puerto Rico, all of whom advanced to the next round.

In the round of 16, host nation Indonesia faced Italy and lost 1-3. This led them to the 9th-16th place bracket, where they met Thailand, who had previously lost 0-3 to China.

Indonesian players struggle to defend against Thailand during the match on the evening of 15/8. Photo: Volleyball World

Indonesian players struggle to defend against Thailand during the match on the evening of 15/8. Photo: Volleyball World

The match between the two Southeast Asian representatives attracted a near-capacity crowd at the Surabaya stadium.

Fueled by the home crowd, Indonesia started strong, taking an early lead against Thailand at 16-10 and then 19-12. However, demonstrating their experience as the region’s top volleyball nation, Thailand gradually closed the gap, tying the score at 23-23 before ultimately winning the first set 26-24.

This victory gave Thailand significant momentum. In the second set, they faced only minor challenges as the host nation tied the score at 10-10 and again at 14-14. Thailand then pulled ahead to 23-18 and secured the second set 25-19.

The third set was a tense and hard-fought battle, with both teams exchanging leads until the score reached 14-14. Thailand once again proved their resilience. Led by outside hitter Warisara, they turned the tide, winning the final set 25-22.

This result placed Thailand in the 9th-12th place bracket against the Czech Republic, while Indonesia moved to the 13th-16th place bracket to face South Korea.

Meanwhile, after reaching the round of 16, Serbia lost two consecutive matches against Turkey and Croatia (both 0-3). They subsequently dropped to the 13th-16th place bracket to compete against Puerto Rico.

Duc Dong