Paul Burnett/Jack Pearse and Jasmine Fleming/Georgia Johnson claim respective men’s and women’s gold medals for Australia
Songkhla, Thailand, April 16, 2024 – Australia completed clean sweep of men’s and women’s titles at the action-packed AVC Beach Tour 23rd Samila Open at the wonderful white sandy Samila Beach here on Tuesday, with Jasmine Fleming/Georgia Johnson stunning Kiwis Alice Zeimann/Shaunna Polley with epic tiebreak win and Paul Burnett/Jack Pearse dashing Iranian hopes of winning two AVC Beach Tour events on the trot
In the morning women’s semifinals, second seeds Fleming/Johnson showcased their prowess with swift counter-attacks and efficient blocks to power past Japanese third seeds Asami Shiba/Saki Maruyama 2-0 (21-16, 22-20).
Kiwi fourth seeds and 2022 Asian winners Zeimann/Polley smashed Stefanie Fejes/Jana Milutinovic’s dreams of setting up an all-Australians final with Fleming/Johnson, beating the Australian top seeds for the second time this season with convincing 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) win in another semifinal encounter. On March 10, Zeimann/Polley had already beaten the Aussies 2-1 in the final match of the BPT Futures Mt Maunganui to claim the back-to-back titles.
In the highly-anticipated final, Fleming/Johnson rebounded from dismal start against Zeimann/Polley to seal the dramatic 2-1 (13-21, 21-18, 15-13) win for the women’s crown.
It was a successful season for Fleming/Johnson since they played their first season together as teammates in 2023. The Australian duo had already claimed their first Beach Pro Tour gold in Geelong Futures last November apart from picking up bronze at the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour Mollymook and BPT Futures Mollymook in February. Last week, Fleming/Johnson succumbed to straight-set loss to Fejes/Milutinovic in the all-Australians final to take silver at the AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open in Philippines.
In the third-place playoff clash earlier, Fejes/Milutinovic spent 34 minutes in trouncing Japanese Shiba/Maruyama 2-0 (21-15, 21-16) for bronze medal.
Australia also stamped their authority in the men’s event, with fifth seeds Paul Burnett/Jack Pearse, who won their first BPT Futures event together last November in Geelong, stunning Iran’s 13th seeds Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab, fresh from winning the last week’s AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open in Philippines, in the final clash for the eventual men’s title.
Earlier, Burnett/Pearse made their mark on Monday to beat Chinese Li Zhuoxin/Liu Chuangyong 2-1 in round of 16 and continued their winning way to stun reigning champions Wu Jiaxin/Ha Likejiang in the quarterfinals. The Chinese pair had already won three BPT Futures gold medals last year including the Futures Mt Maunganui in New Zealand and the Futures Coolangatta in Australia.
Burnett/Pearse still performed exceptionally in the do-or-die semifinals against Kiwi sixth seeds Thomas Reid, 28, John McManaway, 22, who topped the podium at the recent men’s Futures event in Pirae Tahiti to snatch their first-ever gold on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour.
Riding the momentum and the inspiration coming from the fantastic Australian fans on the stands, Burnett/Pearse lived up to the expectations as they clinched the comfortable 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) win against the Kiwis for a spot in the final. The Australians went on their brilliant form to beat Iranians Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) for the men’s title.
The Iranians also fought well in the other semifinal clash earlier against Thailand’s top seeds Pithak Tipjan/Poravid Taovato, the same rivals they had already beaten 2-0 in the final of last week’s AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open to claim their first-ever gold in the AVC Beach Tour event. Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab bounced back from the first set loss to pull off a hard-fought 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 15-12) win against the Thai duo.
Meanwhile, Kiwis Reid/MaManaway had to be content with bronze medal after comeback 2-1 (18-21, 21-15, 15-9) win against Thailand’s Pithak/Poravid.
Thailand Volleyball Association President Mr Somporn Chaibangyang and Songkhla Deputy Governor Mr Amnuay Pinsuwan jointly presided over the awards presentation and closing ceremony on Tuesday. Prior to the ceremony, Mr Somporn presented AVC plaques to organisers, sponsors and supporters who helped make the organization of the AVC Beach Tour 23rd Samila Open a great success.
MEDALLISTS
MEN
1. Paul Burnett/Jack Pearse (Australia)
2. Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab (Iran)
3. Thomas Reid/John McManaway (New Zealand)
WOMEN
1.Jasmine Fleming/Georgia Johnson (Australia)
2. Alice Zeimann/Shaunna Polley (New Zealand)
3. Stefanie Fejes/Jana Milutinovic (Australia)
MATCH RESULTS
MEN
WOMEN
FINAL RANKINGS
MEN
WOMEN
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
Mikasa Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/mikasasports_official
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation