Tennis players learn Muay Thai at Thailand Open 2009

Top tennis stars Gilles Simon of France, John Isner of USA and Robby Ginepri of USA got some hands (and legs) on experience with Thai martial arts at the PTT Thailand Open 2009 tennis tournament yesterday.



The three players were treated to an up close demonstration of sword fighting and Muay Thai before donning their boxing shorts and getting amongst the action themselves. The three received lessons in the Thai kick-boxing from Olympic champion Somjit Jongjorhor, much to the delight of the local crowd.

Ginepri, who is known to have a passion for the traditional martial art, displayed some excellent moves in his boxing bout with Jongjorhor.

Simon, Isner and Ginepri all play their second round matches at the tournament today.

Bryan Robson Thailand's new soccer manager

Bryan Robson has agreed to a four-year deal to become Thailand's new manager, the head of the country's FA has announced.



The 52-year-old will fill the vacancy left by former incumbent Peter Reid, who departed by mutual consent 12 months into a four-year contract to take up the post of assistant manager at Stoke after being told he could not split his time between England and the south-east Asian nation.

Robson's immediate task in his first foray into international management will be to build on the good work done previously by Reid and guide the nation to a place in the Asian Cup finals in Qatar in 2011, with Thai FA chief Worawi Makudi also targeting a place at the 2014 World Cup.

"He's agreed to become coach, he's very happy with what we've offered him," Worawi told reporters.

"It's a four-year deal. The plan is he'll coach Thailand for the Asian Cup, the Olympics and hopefully the World Cup, too."

Robson's previous managerial experience has included spells at Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Bradford and West Brom.

It remains unclear how much time he will spend in the country and whether he will continue his role as global ambassador for former club Manchester United.
Thailand are currently third in Asian Cup Qualifying Group E with two points from two games following draws with Jordan and Iran.

Thai women win Asian Volleyball Championship

Thailand's women's volleyball team made a big surprise as they beat China 3-1 in the final to win the 15th Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, held at the Quan Ngua Sport Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday.



In a nail-biting match, Thailand came back from one set down to take their first-ever victory over volleyball powerhouse China with scores of 20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 in the final of the 16-team tournament.

China are currently standing third in the world rankings, while Thailand stands at World No. 17.

In another match, Japan beat the Republic of Korea 3-0 to snatch the bronze medal. Kazakhstan defeated Chinese Taipei 3-0 to rank fifth while the hosts Vietnam downed Iran 3-0 for the second time to occupy the seventh position.

The achievement also earned Thailand a berth at the World Grand Champion Cup in November and the World Grand Prix next year.

Thai coach Kriatipong Ratchatakriangkai admitted that to defeat China, bronze medalist at last year's Olympic Games and 11-time Asian champion, was way beyond expectations.



He said the next task is to prepare the team for the tournament in November.

Individual awards:

Most Valuable Player: Onuma Sittirak (Thailand)

Best Scorer: Kim Yeon Koung (Korea)

Best Spiker: Xue Ming (China)

Best Setter: Nootsara Tomkom (Thailand)

Best Blocker: Xue Ming (China)

Best Server: Saori Kimura (Japan)

Best Libero Player: Wanna Buakaew (Thailand)