August 15, 2003 – Suphan Buri Sports Association chairman Waravuth Silapa-archa confirmed on Friday that Suphan Buri is well-prepared for hosting the 2003 World Women’s Juniors Under-20 Volleyball Championship, its second attempt on staging the world-class tournament, which starts on September 6.

Waravuth, a Member of Parliament, said in a press conference that preparation for hosting the September 6-14 tournament is going smoothly as planned.

“I think we (Suphan Buri province) did a good job in making the World Boys’ Under-19 Volleyball Championship last July a memorable success," he said. "We gained experience. To host the second world-class tournament will not pose any major problem to the province.

“In fact, Suphan Buri hosted several major tournaments. Last year, we staged some of the World Grand Prix. We also used to host the Asian Men’s Clubs Volleyball Championship and the Princess Cup tournament. We all are confident of making the world women’s junior tournament another success.”

He added that the championship will not only promote the sport in the province and Thailand alike, but also help improve on the tourism atmosphere in the country.

Suthep Suebsantiwong, vice president of the Thailand Volleyball Association who presided over the press conference, said that TVA and Thai people alike are greatly honoured to have a chance of hosting two world championships in two months.

“I think Thai people are very lucky to stand a chance of watching the world-class players from 16 teams play on home soil," Suthep said. "The standard of Thai volleyball will improve in leaps and bounds.”

The nine-day meet will take place simultaneously in the Silapa-archa Gymnasium and the Chaopha Hall, which is located just 300m away. A total of 16 teams will pit their expertise against each other in the championship.

African champions Algeria, Venezuela, The Netherlands and hosts Thailand are in Group A, with North American champs Puerto Rico, Belarus, Russia and South Korea in Group B. Group C comprise Ukraine, Germany, Taiwan and Asian champions China, while European champs Poland, South America champions Brazil, Cuba and Turkey are in Group D.