Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, June 26, 2021 – Australia and Indonesia will face off in the men’s showdown of the AVC Continental Cup Finals, as China pulled off stunning 2-1 win against reigning champions Australia to set up the women’s final clash with Japan on Sunday at the makeshift competition venue in front of Mida Grande Hotel Dhavaravati Nakhon Pathom.
In the Saturday’s semifinals, Japan downed hosts Thailand 2-0 and China edged past Australia 2-1 in the women’s event, while the men’s competition saw Australia brush off Iran 2-0 and Indonesia struggle to beat New Zealand 2-1.
Veterans Xue Chen/Wang Xinxin, who finished 9th at four FIVB World Tour 4-Star events in 2019 including the tournaments in Moscow, Russia, Espinho, Portugal and Ostrava in Czech Republic, survived a daunting challenge from Nicole Laird/Becchara Palmer to beat the Australian pairing in three-set thriller in exhausting 50 minutes for the China’s 1-0 advantage.
However, Australia held off China for 1-1 tie after Phoebe Bell/Jessyka Ngauamo beat Wen Shuhui/Wang Jingzhe 2-0 following the China injury forfeit. In the thrilling Golden Match, Xue/Wang recovered from the first set down to Laird/Palmer, winners at the 2019 World Tour 3-Star event in Sydney, to take the remaining two sets.
It was a successful comeback for China after they had to be content with the third place at the 2016 AVC Continental Cup Finals in Cairns, where hosts Australia secured Rio 2016 berth with victory over Vanuatu in the showdown.
In the women’s final clash on Sunday, China will go up against Japan in the rematch of the 2016 third-place playoff. Japan, winners at the recent AVC Continental Cup Semi-finals, proved to be a strong team to be reckoned with in the Finals as they have yet lost a set to their respective rivals including a surprise win against formidable Vanuatu, of which Miller Pata/Sherysyn Toko, gold medallists at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa and the Penghu Open in Chinese Taipei on the same year, are their Olympic hopefuls.
Japan dashed out high hopes of the host nation in the Saturday’s semifinals with a clean sweep of both matches, with Akiko Hasegawa/Azusa Futami grabbing a fantastic comeback 2-1 win against Thailand 1’s Varapatsorn Radarong/Naraphornrapat Taravadee.
In the men’s competition, Australia, which succumbed to 1-2 defeat against Kazakhstan in the third-place playoff in the previous Finals in Cairns, moved a step closer to securing their Olympic berth as they cruised to a 2-0 win against Iran in the Saturday’s semifinals.
Christopher McHugh/Damien Schumann, gold medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and the 2020 Asian Championship in Udon Thani, Thailand, spent 36 minutes in brushing off Iranians Bahman Salemi/Arash Vakili, while Maximilian Guehrer/Zachery Schubert, bronze medallists at the 2020 Asian Championship, survived a scare from Rahman Raoufi/Abolhamed Mirzaali to win their highly-anticipated encounter.
In the Sunday’s showdown, Australia will challenge Indonesia, the team they had already beaten in the quarterfinals of the previous Finals in Cairns in 2016.
Indonesia still keep their Tokyo 2020 hopes alive after their Gold Match triumph against New Zealand, with Gilang Ramadhan/Ade Candra Rachamawan overcoming hot weather and Thomas Hartles/Alani Nicklin in the deciding match.
On Sunday, the men’s final clash between Indonesia and Australia will start at 9am local time, while the women’s showdown between China and Japan will be held at 11am.
Related links of AVC
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: https://twitter.com/avcvolley
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation