Press release

Sergey Ovchinnikov, Russia coach: "I'm glad our players followed the plan for this game. This is why we won. We didn't relax during the match and kept our focus. Nataliya Goncharova played well, but she can play better."

Kiattipong Rachatagriengkai, Thailand coach: "Today the Russian team played well in every aspect - blocking, serving, reception. I'm satisfied with our performance. We learned a lot playing against such a strong team like Russia."

Maria Borisenko, Russia captain: "It was not easy for us. We knew they had a fast game. We are tall and not so fast like Thailand. Tomorrow is another game and we have to win. Evgenia Estes is a very important player for us. She came back in the Olympic year, which means a lot."

Wilavan Apinyapong, Thailand captain: "We played hard. Russia has really good skill and technique. It was not easy for us to get points. We will try to learn from this and improve our play for the next match. We played well. We just need better technique."