Tianjin, China, July 14, 2024 – Iran’s Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab captured their second AVC Beach Tour gold this year, as China’s Yan Xu/Zhou Mingli had a revenge match against Australians Stefanie Fejes/Georgia Johnson to reign supreme in the women’s event of the AVC Beach Tour Tianjin Open at Dongjiang Gulf Beach, Binhai here on Sunday.
Iran’s Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab claim men’s gold medal
Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab, who had already won the AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open in City of Santa Rosa in Philippines early this April to their name, stunned Thailand’s top seeds Pithak Thipjan/Poravid Taovato 2-0 (22-20, 21-18) to be crowned men’s champions. For the Iranian duo, it was the repeated feat over the Thai counterparts they had already beaten in the final of the Nuvali Open.
Iran’s Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab in final match against Thailand’s Pithak/Poravid
The Iranian duo had already made their mark in international beach volleyball competitions, helping their National Federation win the AVC Continental Cup – Central Zone last September apart from picking up bronze at the last August’s BPT Futures Wenzhou Cangan in China and fourth place at the last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games, making them the first Iranian pair ever to advance to the Asian Games semifinals.
Iran and two Thai pairs complete men’s podium
For the victory with remarkable unbeaten record at the Tianjin Open, Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab claimed gold medal plus US$2,500 cash prize and added another 320 points to their AVC Beach Volleyball ranking record, while Thailand’s Pithak/Poravid took home silver medal, US$2,000 cash prize and 288 AVC ranking points.
Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab top men’s podium
In the semifinals earlier, Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab, silver medallists at this year’s 23rd Samila Open in Thailand, beat China’s Wang Yanwei/Liu Chuanyong 2-0 (21-14, 21-18), while Pithak/Poravid, who had grabbed their first World Beach Pro Tour medal in 2022 with a Subic Bay Futures gold in Philippines and fourth place at the 2023 Asian Championship in Fuzhou, China, outperformed fellow Netitorn Muneekul/Wachirawit Muadpha 2-0 (21-18, 21-16).
Thailand’s Pithak/Poravid and Netitorn/Wachirawit make 2-3 finish
The bronze-medal match saw Netitorn/Wachirawit bounce back to beat Wang/Liu of China 2-1 (13-21, 21-18, 16-14) and made Thailand a two-three finish in Tianjin.
Chinese Yan/Zhou crowned women’s champions at Tianjin Open
Meanwhile, Chinese Yan Xu/Zhou Mingli took the women’s crown following their sensational 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) victory against Australia’s new pair Stefanie Fejes/Georgia Johnson, the champions at the 2024 World Beach Pro Tour Futures – Krakow in Poland, to whom the Chinese pair had lost 0-2 in the pool play earlier.
Chinese Yan/Zhou top women’s podium
For their great achievement in Tianjin, Yan/Zhou claimed gold medal plus US$2,500 cash prize and 320 AVC ranking points, while Aussies Fejes/Johnson took home silver medal, US$2,000 cash prize and 288 AVC ranking points.
Chinese Yan/Zhou in women’s final match against Australia’s Fejes/Johnson
Yan and Zhou proved no stranger to beach volleyball as the 20-year-old Yan and the 19-year-old Zhou have already claimed two World Beach Pro Tour Futures titles on home soil consisting of the 2023 Futures – Qidong and the 2024 Futures – Wuhan Qingshan.
Australia’s Fejes/Johnson pick up silver
Earlier, the Chinese duo won the all-Chinese semifinal affair after beating Wang Fan/Bai Bing 2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 15-12), while Aussies Fejes/Johnson downed Asami Shiba/Saki Maruyama of Japan 2-0 (21-16, 21-11) in 34 minutes in the other semifinal clash.
Japan’s Shiba/Maruyama claim women’s bronze
Shiba/Maruyama had to be content with bronze medal following 2-0 (23-21, 21-18) win against Wang/Bai of China.
All medallists in group photo with young volunteers
MATCH RESULTS
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WOMEN
FINAL RANKINGS
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WOMEN
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