Bangkok, Thailand, February 21, 2022 – Iran smashed hosts Sri Lanka’s dreams of sweeping both titles up for grabs in the 1st Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) Beach Volleyball Championship for the 75th Independence Cup on Beach Park Negombo, as Sri Lanka made a fantastic 1-2-3 finish in the women’s event.
The inaugural three-day tournament came to a close on Sunday. Iranians S. Shekar/Aro reigned supreme following a comfortable 2-0 (21-12, 21-16) victory against Sri Lankan’s up-and-coming Anjana/Sandun in the men’s final showdown, while Sri Lankans Deepika Bandara/Dinesha Prasadani ended their campaign in the unprecedented event on a high note with a remarkable unbeaten run to capture the women’s crown.
Top seeds Deepika/Dinesha, regarded as the gold-medal hopes of the host nation, got off to a brilliant start in this historic tournament after beating teammates Shehani/Jayawardana 2-0 (21-16, 21-8) on Friday, the very first day of the group round-robin preliminaries. They claimed the second win the following day following a 2-0 (21-13, 21-9) demolition of Maldivians Azuma/Majidha to top Pool A.
In the semifinals, the talented Sri Lankans continued their winning streak after a totally lop-sided battle (21-4, 21-8 in 23 minutes) against another Maldivian pairing, Rudhaina/Nazima.
Deepika/Dinesha renewed their rivalry with Shehani/Jayawardana, the old foes they had already beaten in the very first match, in the Sunday’s showdown. This time, it turned out to be the similar script as their first meeting when the former still faced no issues in shutting out the compatriots 21-15, 21-10 in the 34-minute clash for the eventual women’s title.
Earlier, Sri Lankan second seeds Chathurika/Hashimi pulled off a comfortable 2-0 (21-4, 21-9) win against Maldives’ third-seeds Rudhaina/Nazima in 31 minutes in the women’s third-place playoff match for bronze medal, resulting in hosts Sri Lanka’s perfect 1-2-3 sweep in the women’s competition.
Meanwhile, Iranian Ali/Mahdi succumbed to their first defeat in the men’s event when the fourth seeds went down 0-2 (14-21, 19-21) in a thrilling semifinal clash against teammates and second seeds S.Shekar/Aro to miss the cut in the final clash.
The other semifinal encounter saw sixth seeds Anjana/Sandun stun top seeds Tiron/Ashen 2-1 in the all-Sri Lankans affair. The former lost the comfortable first set 13-21, but regained their composure to lead 13-10 in the second set before the latter surrendered due to an unexpected injury. Anjana/Sandun advanced to challenge Iranians S.Sheka/Aro in the final.
The injury still posted a serious problem for Tiron/Ashen and the Sri Lankans decided to forfeit the third-place playoff match, leaving Iranians Ali/Mahdi to clinch bronze medal.
In the final showdown, Iranians S.Shekar/Aro remained in dazzling form to see off Sri Lankans Anjana/Sandun, the rivals they had already defeated 2-0 in the preliminary Pool B clash, 2-0 (21-12, 21-16) in 41 minutes for the eventual men’s title.
MEN’S RESULTS
WOMEN’S RESULTS
MEN’S TOP-FOUR STANDING
1. S.Shekar/Aro (Iran)
2. Anjana/Sandun (Sri Lanka)
3. Ali/Mahdi (Iran)
4. Tiron/Ashen (Sri Lanka)
WOMEN’S TOP-FOUR STANDING
1. Deepika/Dinesha (Sri Lanka)
2. Shehani/Jayawardana (Sri Lanka)
3. Chathurika/Hashini (Sri Lanka)
4. Rudhaina/Nazima (Maldives)
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