Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei, August 22, 2024 – The double-gender “Taichung Bank” AVC Beach Tour Taoyuan Open is set to take place at Dayuan Beach Volleyball Court here from August 23 to 26, with 28 teams including 15 men’s pairings ready to get on the sand to vie for men’s and women’s titles.
Australia and Thailand fielded three teams apiece in the women’s event. Hosts Chinese Taipei and Korea sent two team each, with one team apiece represented by Philippines, Macau China and Malaysia. In the men’s division, Thailand, Australia and Japan fielded three teams each and hosts Chinese Taipei sent two teams, while Iran, New Zealand, Philippines and Malaysia fielded one team each.
Leading the charge in the men’s event are Iran’s Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab, who had already captured two AVC Beach Tour gold medals this year consisting of the Nuvali Open in City of Santa Rosa in Philippines early this April and Tianjin Open in July.
Strong challenges can be expected from Australians Jack Pearse/D’Artagnan Potts, who captured their first Beach Pro Tour Futures event together last November in Geelong and captured the title at the 23rd Samila Open in Songkhla, Thailand this year.
Thailand’s top players Pithak Tipjan/Poravid Taovato also proved to be one of the strong teams to be reckoned with and the title contenders others can’t underestimate. The Thai duo had captured their first Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour medal in the Philippines in 2022, a Subic Bay Futures gold, and backed it up with silver at their next appearance on the Tour, at the Coolangatta Futures in March and April. Pithak/Poravid picked up silver medal at the last month’s Tianjin Open.
In the women’s side, all eyes will be on Australia’s Stefanie Fejes/Georgia Johnson, the champions at the 2024 World Beach Pro Tour Futures – Krakow in Poland and gold medallists at this year’s Samila Open in Thailand, and their compatriots, Jasmine Fleming/Jana Milutinovic.
Teams will be divided into four pools in both men’s and women’s events and after pool round-robin preliminaries, every team will have an equal chance to next contest the single elimination.
Ahead of the competition, the General Technical Meeting was held on Thursday at Meeting Room, on 3rd floor of the Monarch Plaza Hotel to finally confirm the competition draw, refereeing, medical and other related issues. Mr Kong Chien-Jung, President of Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association, presided over the meeting and delivered the welcome speech to all participants.
Also in attendance were Mr Huang Kuo-Kuang, Secretary General of Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association, local organizing committee of Taoyuan City and all participating teams.
The team briefing later on was jointly conducted by Technical Delegate Mr Tomoki Kimishima from Japan and Referee Delegate Mr Thomas Chang from Hong Kong, China, with the former reporting on the match protocol, the Rules of the Game as well as the competition format and the pool principle and the latter on the referee issues ahead of the conduction of the drawing of lots.
On Friday, the very first day of the four-day event, the pool play will start at 9am local time in the women’s event, while the men’s competition will take place from 9.50am onwards.
MEN’S POOL
WOMEN’S POOL
MATCH SCHEDULE
MEN
WOMEN
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