TOKYO, May 25 - Kazakhstan clinched the final women's volleyball spot at the Beijing Olympics after coming from behind to beat Thailand on Sunday.
Kazakhstan finished the final qualifying tournament in Tokyo with a 2-5 record but joined Japan, Serbia and Poland in reaching their first Olympic Games as the top-placed Asian team after Japan.
South Korea blew their chance by slipping to defeat against the Dominican Republic, finishing on 2-5 but losing out by virtue of a worse points ratio than Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan beat Thailand 13-25 25-18 25-14 25-21 but the players did not initially realise they had qualified for the August Games because of confusion over the rules.
Captain Yelena Pavlova shrieked with delight when given the news during a post-match news conference, racing out of the room to tell her team mates.
"I've never had such a happy surprise," Kazakhstan coach Viktor Zhuravlev said. "There are no words to describe how I feel."
Italy, Brazil, the United States, Cuba, Venezuela, Algeria and Russia had already qualified for the 12-team Olympic tournament, along with hosts and 2004 Athens gold medallists China.
