Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei, August 23, 2024 – Strong contenders lived up to their expectations to pull off sensational wins against lower-ranked sides on action-packed Day 1 of the double-gender “Taichung Bank” AVC Beach Tour Taoyuan Open at Dayuan Beach Volleyball Court here.
A total of 28 teams from 10 countries featuring 15 men’s teams and 13 women’s pairings started their pool-play campaign on Friday to vie for top honours and AVC accumulated points in both events.
Australia ruled the roost in the women’s competition on Friday, with their three teams demolishing their opponents in respective pools.
Top seeds Stefanie Fejes/Georgia Johnson, winners at the 2024 World Beach Pro Tour Futures – Krakow in Poland and gold medallists at this year’s Samila Open in Songkhla, Thailand, proved too strong for Jidapa Bunongkhun/Salinda Mungkhon to power past the Thai duo 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) in Pool A. However, Jidapa/Salinda made amends to mercilessly crush Macao, China’s Leong On Ieng/Law Weng Sam in totally one-sided battle 21-11, 21-7 in 26 minutes.
Fejes/Johnson will next take on Macao, China’s Leong On Leng/Law Weng Sam on Saturday.
In Pool B, the match between Australia’s second seeds Jasmine Fleming/Jana Milutinovic and Shin Jieun/Si Eun-Mi became one-way traffic when the Australian tandem overwhelmed the Koreans 2-0 (21-9, 21-11). Shin Jieun/Si Eun-Mi suffered another setback when they succumbed to 0-2 (5-21, 9-21) defeat to Thailand’s seventh seeds Patcharaporn Seehawong/Samitta Simarongnam.
The Aussies will next go up against Patcharaporn/Samitta on Sunday.
Thailand’s third seeds Charanrutwadee Patcharamainaruebhorn/Woranatchayakorn Phirachayakrailert produced comeback 2-1 (18-21, 21-9, 15-8) win against Chinese Taipei’s Wang Sin Ting/Xie Yi-Ran in Pool C. The host side suffered two losses in a row following their 12-21, 13-21 defeat to Philippines’ Genesa Jane Eslapor/Mary Klymince Orillaneda.
The Filipinas will next test their mettle against Thailand’s Charanrutwadee/Woranatchayakorn on Saturday.
Pool D encounters saw Chinese Taipei’s fourth seeds Liu Pi-Hsin/Wu Shu-Fen brush off Korea’s Jeon Hari/Kim Seyeon 2-0 (21-10, 21-15). The Korean duo lost two in succession following their 6-21, 10-21 loss at the hands of Australia’s fifth seeds Tara Phillips/Elizabeth Alchin, who earlier recorded their first win against Malaysians Goh Chiao Huey/Qi Min Siah IRene 2-0 (21-10, 21-9).
In the men’s event, teams with higher seeds made their marks on the opening day of the competition. Top seeds Pithak Tipjan/Poravid Taovato, who secured silver medal at the last month’s Tianjin Open, got off to a great start with convincing 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) win against Yusuke Ishijima/Kensuke Shoji in Pool A. However, the Japanese pairing bounced back from the first-match loss to beat Kiwis David Vukets Gregory/John McManaway 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) in their second encounter.
Australia’s second seeds Jack Pearse/D’Artagnan Potts recovered from the stunning 1-2 (21-18, 23-25, 12-15) loss to Philippines’ Abdilla Alnakran/Varga Rancel in the first encounter in Pool B to edge past Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Ya-Jen/Wang Chin-Ju 2-0 (21-19, 26-24) in their second match. The host team went down in hard-fought three-set thriller 26-28, 21-15, 14-16 to Dylan Kurokawa Hiroki/Kosuke Fukushima, while the Japanese duo also succumbed to 0-2 (18-21, 19-21) loss to the Filipinos.
In Pool C, Japan’s Nassim Malki/Kai Kuwokawa spent 39 minutes in overcoming Thailand’s Netitorn Muneekul/Wachirawit Muadpha 2-0 (21-13, 21-19), while Iranians Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab, one of the strongest teams to be reckoned with in the four-day event, beat Australia’s Luke Ryan/Joshua Howat 2-0 (21-11, 21-16) and continued their remarkable run following their exceptional 2-0 (21-12, 21-15) victory against Japan’s Malki/Kai in their second encounter on the same day.
Thailand’s Netitorn/Wachirawit, who lost 1-2 (16-21, 21-18, 14-16) in their second match to Australians Ryan/Howat, will next go up against the Iranian duo, who had already captured two AVC Beach Tour gold medals this year consisting of the Nuvali Open in City of Santa Rosa in Philippines this April and Tianjin Open in July.
In Pool D, Thailand’s Dunwinit/Kittituch saw off Chinese Taipei’s Hu Cheng-Gang/Yu Bing-Han 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) in their first match and extended their unbeaten streak after beating Aussies Solomon Bushby/Ben Hood 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) in the second clash.
The pool play continues on Saturday, the second day of the double-gender event. At the end of the pool play, all participating teams in each pool in both men’s and women’s events stand a chance to strut their stuff in the single elimination.
MATCH RESULTS
MEN
WOMEN
MEN’S POOL
WOMEN’S POOL
MATCH SCHEDULE
MEN
WOMEN
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