The 14th Asian Senior Women's Volleyball Championship kicked off Wednesday at the Mall's MCC Hall in Thailand's northeastern province Nakhon Ratchasima, with 13 teams participating in the nine-day Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) event.

There are four preliminary round groups. Thailand plays Australia in the opening match Wednesday. The host team is assured of a place in the second round as there are only two teams in their Group A, after the withdrawal of Tajikistan.

Thai team coach Nataphon Srisumutnak was quoted by local media as saying that he hoped his side finished in the top four and secured a spot in the 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament.

In other groups for the curtain-raiser, Vietnam plays Sri Lanka, New Zealand meets Chinese Taipei, South Korea faces Indonesia, Japan takes on Uzbekistan while Kazakhstan plays Iran.

The Iranian women's volleyball team is expected to catch much spotlight as this is their debut international tournament after a 30-year absence, with a unique Islamic dressing code.

China, which has captured the crown for a consecutive 10 times since its first victory in 1987, is widely expected to stretch its dominance this time.

Top three teams in the event (except China and Japan) will qualify for the world Olympic qualification tournament in Japan next May.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2007)