TOKYO — Thailand shocked world No. 7 Dominican Republic 3-1 (26-24, 26-28, 25-16, 25-20) as the women's volleyball qualifying tournament for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics got under way on Saturday.
Kongyot Ajcharaporn and Sittirak Onuma led the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively, for Thailand, ranked 13th and looking to qualify for its first Olympics.
The highest finisher from Asia in the eight-team round-robin competition automatically qualifies along with the top three teams overall.
Italy started the day with a 3-1 win over South Korea. The Netherlands swept 3-1 past Kazakhstan, the lowest-ranked team in the field at No. 26.
Host Japan was to play play Peru later on Saturday. Thailand's next match will be against Italy on Sunday.
The tournament that runs in Tokyo until May 22 is one of two events that will decide the five remaining spots in Rio. The second tournament, which will be held from May 20-22 in Puerto Rico, consists of four teams, and only the winner will take the last spot for the 2016 Olympics.