Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, July 3, 2021 – Home players ruled the roost in the men’s event, while Australia made their mark in the women’s encounters in the pool round-robin preliminaries of the 3rd Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championships in front of Mida Grande Hotel Dhavaravati Nakhon Pathom here on Saturday.
Hopes of the host nation ran high following a clean sweep on Saturday, with all their men’s teams registering first wins in the double-gender, July 3-6 competition, which serves as the Asia’s qualifying tournament for the FIVB U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Roi Et, Thailand between September 15 and 19, 2021.
Top seeds Wachirawit Muadpha/Netitorn Muneekul got their Pool A campaign in the four-day tournament off to a victorious start as the Thailand1 duo survived a sturdy challenge from Iran2’s Amir Reza Zamani/Armin Kami to beat the 9th seeds in thrilling three-setter 21-12, 19-21, 16-14 in 48 minutes.
Wachirawit and Netitorn will next take on the Philippines’ Jay Rack De La Noche/Alexander Jhon Iraya on Sunday. A possible win in that match will carry them to the top of Pool A.
However, it turned out to be a quite difficult task for another Thai team in Pool B when Narakorn Chumaphai/Veerayut Sopati overcame the scorching heat to fight back from the first set down to beat Australia’s Benjamin Booth/Lucas Josefsen 18-21, 21-16, 15-11 in exhausting 61 minutes. The Thailand2 pairing will next play Lebanon1’s Moussa Moussi/Joseph Chahine on Monday.
Thailand3’s Nopphawit Puttharong/Anucha Promdee also had a mountain to climb in their opening Pool D match against Regar Renata/Afta Widura. The host team lost the first set to the well-organised Indonesians 15-21, but counter-attacked well to take the second and third sets 23-21, 15-11.
The other Pool D encounter between Kazakhstan1’s Darkhan Amanzholov/Damir Lapov and Lebanon2’s Jason El Najjar/Omar Abi Karam was locked in a tight contest before the Kazakh duo pulled out a narrow 27-25, 18-21, 15-12 win.
In Pool C, Iran1’s Abolhassan Khakizadeh/Ali Ghorbanpasandi had a little problem in storming past Kazakhstan2’s Alexandr Ketiladze/Alexandr Izmailov 21-8, 21-12 in just 27 minutes.
Meanwhile, Australia had a field day when all their matches ended in comfortable two sets.
Australia1’s Alisha Stevens/Stefanie Fejes and Thailand2’s Patcharaporn Seehawong/Jidapa Bunongkhun each captured two victories in a single day. The Australian second seeds on Saturday tore the Kazakh defence into shreds before beating Kazakhstan1’s Aisulu Mukhtarkyzy/Assemay Sabanbayeva 21-9, 21-14 in just 25 minutes.
“We feel very good with beautiful weather and beautiful courts here. I’m glad that we came up with the first win against Kazakhstan,” Alisha Stevens said at the Mixed Zone.
“Very excited. Looking forward to the next game,” teammate Stefanie Fejes added briefly.
The superb Australian duo continued their remarkable performance in the afternoon session to demolish Thailand3’s Aungkhawipa Kaewthong/Tassanee Chongyoklang 21-17, 21-13. On Sunday, the Australians will go up against the tough Thai rivals Patcharaporn and Jidapa.
The sixth seeds on Saturday beat Aungkhawipa/Tassanee in all-Thais battle in two-setter and repeated the similar feat with a convincing 21-12, 21-12 win against Kazakhs Mukhtarkyzy/Sabanbayeva.
Australia2’s Jasmine Fleming/Jesse Mann battled hard on Saturday to beat Indonesia’s Rifda Alia Fadila/Francisca Arintha 21-19, 21-19. The Australians are due to next challenge top seeds Thailand1’s Suchinna Choemphun/Apinya Saengpaeng, who shut out Kazakhstan2’s Laura Kabulbekova/Nadezhda Ivanchenko 21-15, 21-12.
The pool plays continue on Sunday in both men’s and women’s events, with only top teams from each pool advancing to the men’s quarterfinals on Monday and teams finishing second, third and fourth places being drawn for clashes in that round.
In the women’s event, top two teams from each pool after the round-robin preliminaries will contest the cross semifinals on Monday, with the two winning teams setting up the final showdown on Tuesday.
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