Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, June 25, 2021 – China and Vanuatu crashed out of the AVC Continental Cup Finals in the respective men’s and women’s events, as Golden Match triumphs brought two Asian women’s powerhouses China and Australia to clash in the Saturday’s semifinal encounter for final spot .
Australia’s Nicole Laird/Becchara Palmer
The quarterfinals of the double-gender AVC Continental Cup Finals kicked off in the Friday morning at the makeshift competition venue in front of Mida Grande Hotel Dhavaravati Nakhon Pathom here, with participating teams giving all out in shutting out their respective opponents to secure semifinal berths.
In the men’s event, Qatar suffered an early exit after going down 1-2 against Iran, Australia downed Oman 2-0, Indonesia stunned China 2-1 and New Zealand brushed off hosts Thailand 2-0.
The women’s competition saw Thailand outclass Indonesia 2-0 in a rematch of the 2019 SEA Games final clash, Japan overpowered Vanuatu 2-0, China beat Kazakhstan 2-1 and Australia edged past New Zealand 2-1.
Thailand women’s team players
Indonesia caused a stir on Friday when they pulled off a stunning 2-1 win against the highly-experienced China, led by veterans Gao Peng/Li Yang, who claimed gold medal twice at the AVC Beach Tour Samila Open in Songkhla, Thailand in 2018 and 2019 aside from winning the FIVB World Tour 2-Star event in Singapore in 2018.
Mohammad Ashfiya/Ade Candra Rachmawan of Indonesia
Ha Likejiang/Wu Jiaxin, silver medalists at the 2020 Asian Championship in Udon Thani, Thailand, put China in front 1-0 after 2-0 rout of Indonesians Gilang Ramadhan/Danangsyah Pribadi, but Mohammad Ashfiya/Ade Candra Rachmawan saved the day for Indonesia as they came back to beat Gao/Li 2-1 (17-21, 21-14, 17-15) for a 1-1 tie.
China’s Gao Peng/Li Yang
The impressive Indonesian duo, who captured gold medal at the 2019 Penghu Open in Chinese Taipei and silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games, survived a mighty scare from Gao/Li to win a hotly-contested Gold Match battle 23-21, 23-21 for the Indonesia’s stunning 2-1 victory against China. Indonesia will next go up against New Zealand in the Saturday’s semifinals.
Rahman Raoufi/Abolhamed Mirzaali of Iran
Iran and Qatar were also locked in a tight contest which ended in the deciding Golden Match. After holding a 1-1 advantage, Rahman Raoufi/Abolhamed Mirzaali, who claimed gold medal at the World Tour 1-Star event in Babolsar on home soil, continued their remarkable performance to demolish Qatar’s Mahmoud Ahmed/Saifeddine Elmajid 2-0 (21-12, 21-9) in the 39-minute decider for an eventual 2-1 win against the Qataris.
Christopher McHugh/Damien Schumann of Australia
In the Saturday’s semifinal clash, Iran will go up against Australia, led by Christopher McHugh/Damien Schumann, who brought much fame and reputation to their homeland as they captured gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, the 2020 Asian Championship and the World Tour 2-Star event in Phnom Penh in 2020.
Vanuatu’s Miller Pata/Sherysyn Toko
In the women’s competition, Vanuatu succumbed to 0-2 defeat against Japan, winners at the recent AVC Continental Cup Semi-finals, with Akiko Hasegawa/Azusa Futami stunning Miller Pata/Sherysyn Toko, gold medallists at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa and the Penghu Open in Chinese Open on the same year.
China injury forfeit
However, the clash between China and Kazakhstan was more interesting. Veterans Xue Chen/Wang Xinxin beat Kazakhstan’s Alina Rachenko/Anastassiya Ukolova 2-0 for a China’s 1-0 lead, but Wen Shuhui/Wang Jingzhe, silver medallists at the 2020 Asian Championship and champions at four World Tour 2-Star events in 2019, were forced to forfeit the match against
Tatyana Mashkova/Irina Tsimbalova due to unexpected injury in the third set.
China’s Xue Chen/Wang Xinxin
However, it was not a big deal for Xue/Wang as they faced no issues in beating the Tatyana-Irina pairing in the 33-minute Golden Match for the China’s eventual 2-1 win.
China will next challenge Australia, which were also forced to contest the Golden Match on Friday.
Following a 1-1 tie against New Zealand, Australia’s Nicole Laird/Becchara Palmer, winners at the World Tour 3-Star event in Sydney in 2019, struggled hard in the Golden Match against Kiwis Alice Zeimann/Shaunna Marie Polley to capture the close battle 2-1 (21-19, 15-21, 15-12) in exhausting 48 minutes.
Japan’s Akiko Hasegawa/Azusa Futami
In the men’s semifinals on Saturday, Iran take on Australia at 8am local time and Indonesia challenge New Zealand at 10am, while the afternoon women’s competition sees Thailand play Japan at 1pm and Australia going up against China at 3pm.
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