Ningbo, China, September 19, 2023 – No dark horse appeared as the underdogs were all defeated in 2-0 except Requinton/Abdilla of Philippines, who were reversed by Pribadi/Efendi of Indonesia in 2-1, on the opening day of men’s beach volleyball competition of the 19th Asian Games here at Xiangshan Beach Volleyball Center.
In the morning session, the host pair Wang/Li opened the day with a convincing 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) victory against Qassiya/Alarqan of Palestine in Pool E, while Bogatu/Yakovlev of Kazakhstan clinched a straight set 2-0 (21-11, 21-11) win over Correia/Valente of Timor-Leste in Pool G.
“I am so happy to win the opening match and have a good start for China beach volleyball team,” said Wang Yanwei of China. “I will fight forward with my partner and hope we can stand on the podium at the end.”
In Pool B, Pribadi/Efendi of Indonesia had a slow start but managed to pull off an epic comeback 2-1 (13-21, 21-16, 15-8) victory over Requinton/Abdilla of Philippines. The Philippines pair had a chance to upset their opponents but their fatigue ruined themselves.
Pool F saw Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab of Iran trounce Cheong/Wong of Macao, China 2-0 (21-11, 21-8) within half an hour.
In the afternoon session, 6th seeded Qatar’s duo Mahmoud/Nassim of Pool F breezed to a comfortable 2-0 (21-10, 21-16) victory over Lee/Kim. The Korean pair could keep up with the taller opponents in the beginning until 5-5 tie. But their disadvantages over the net gradually emerged, allowing the Qataris to move ahead to 10-6. A timeout was requested by Korea but it could not stop the momentum of Qatar, who soon rushed to a 21-10 set win. Korea played with more patience in the second set and stuck to the opponents with a narrow gap behind. However they missed some crucial points due to their errors at the end and finally yielded the set in 16-21.
In the second encounter of Pool G, No. 7 seeds Al-housni/Al Shereiqi of Oman gave a lesson of attacks and defense to the Korean pair Kim/Bae, as the former showcased their techniques before sealing off the match with a 2-0 (21-8, 21-10) win.
Led by veteran Ageba Yuya, Japan’s pair Takahashi/Ageba knocked out Wong/Lam of Hong Kong, China 2-0 (21-9, 21-14) in Pool C. They will challenge the 3rd seeded Taovato/Tipjan of Thailand on Wednesday morning.
Indonesia’s Ashfiya Mohammad, silver medalist of last edition of Asian Games in their home soil, paired with his new partner Akbar Bintang and started his second Asian Games adventure with a 2-0 (21-12, 21-16) win over Alnajjar/Alqishawi of Palestine in Pool D.
In the evening session, facing the 9th seeded Al Jalbubi/Al Hashimi of Oman, Tam/Chan of Macao of China showed their persistence in the second set in spite of missing the first set in 9-21. Cheered by spectators, they managed to save incredible 5 match points before handing over the set in 17-21.
Having a bye on the opening day, top 3 seeds Abuduhalikejiang/Wu of China, Samba/Janko of Qatar and Taovato/Tipjan of Thailand will make their debut at the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday.
The preliminary round of men’s beach volleyball competition of the 19th Asian Games will continue at Xiangshan Beach Volleyball Center until September 22. Top 2 teams of each pool will directly make the cut to top 16 for the elimination round of 1/8, which will start on September 24. The final showdown will be held on September 28.
Ningbo, the second largest city of Zhejiang Province, enjoys a long history of over 7,000 years with plenty of historical and religious sites. Served as one of the co-host cities for the 19th Asian Games, Ningbo will host two events of beach volleyball and sailing in its coastal Xiangshan County. The 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
Match Result and Schedule (Local time)
September 19, 2023 (Tuesday)
9:00 Pool E CHN (Wang/Li) v PLE (Qassiya/Alarqan) 2-0 (21-14, 21-16)
9:00 Pool G KAZ (Bogatu/Yakovlev) v TLS (Correia/Valente) 2-0 (21-11, 21-11)
10:00 Pool B INA (Pribadi/Efendi) v PHI (Requinton/Abdilla) 2-1 (13-21, 21-16, 15-8)
10:00 Pool F IRI (Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab) v MAC (Cheong/Wong) 2-0 (21-11, 21-8)
14:00 Pool C JPN (Takahashi/Ageba) v HKG (Wong/Lam) 2-0 (21-9, 21-14)
14:00 Pool F QAT (Mahmoud/Nassim) v KOR (Lee/Kim) 2-0 (21-10, 21-16)
15:00 Pool D INA (Ashfiya/Akbar) v PLE (Alnajjar/Alqishawi) 2-0 (21-12, 21-16)
15:00 Pool G OMA (Al-housni/Al Shereiqi) v KOR (Kim/Bae) 2-0 (21-8, 21-10)
20:00 Pool H OMA (Al Jalbubi/Al Hashimi) v MAC (Tam/Chan) 2-0 (21-9, 21-17)
September 20, 2023 (Wednesday)
9:00 Pool B QAT (Samba/Janko) v INA (Pribadi/Efendi)
9:00 Pool F MAC (Cheong/Wong) v KOR (Lee/Kim)
10:00 Pool C THA (Taovato/Tipjan) v JPN (Takahashi/Ageba)
10:00 Pool G TLS (Correia/Valente) v KOR (Kim/Bae)
14:00 Pool D THA (Kaewsai/Jongklang) v INA (Ashfiya/Akbar)
14:00 Pool H IRI (Salemiinjehboroun/Shoukati) v TJK (Rustamzoda/Tursunov)
15:00 Pool A CHN (Abuduhalikejiang/Wu) v PHI (Garcia/Buytrago)
15:00 Pool G OMA (Al-housni/Al Shereiqi) v KAZ (Bogatu/Yakovlev)
20:00 Pool F QAT (Mahmoud/Nassim) v IRI (Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab)
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