QATAR TAKE ON INDONESIA IN MEN’S FINAL, CHINA SET UP WOMEN’S SHOWDOWN WITH AUSTRALIA IN SATUN PAK BARA MASTER – Asian Volleyball Confederation

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Satun, Thailand, April 10, 2017 – Top seeds Julio/Ahmed Tijan of Qatar suffered a setback on Monday, ousted by six seeds Ade Candra Rachmawan/Mohammad Asfiya in the men’s semi-finals to hand the Indonesians a final berth at the SMM AVC Beach Tour Est Cola 2nd Satun Pak Bara Master.

In the men’s semi-finals, Candra/Asfiya ,who beat Japan’s Takahashi/Shiratori 28-26, 21-15 in the quarter-finals, pulled off a stunning 21-15 21-15 win over the Qatari top seeds.

“Today we had a good defense and effective blocks which led to our victory. I am very happy for this win and it is great to play in the final. Also, I would like to give credit to my partner for playing great volleyball,” said Candra.

“We have played Jefferson/Cherif (their rivals in the final) before and the last time we played them at the Palembang Open we lost to them. They are a very good team,so we have brought out our game to beat them,” he added.

In the other men’s semi-finals, Qatar 2’s Jefferson /Cherif, who thrashed Thailand1’s Nuttanon/Sedtawat in a one-sided battle 21-8, 21-15 in the morning’s quarter-finals, continued their top form to beat Australia1’s McHugh/Schumann 18-21, 21-13, 15-8.

“It is always a very tough match against Australia.They played a very good match.We started a little bit nervous and committed some easy mistakes. But we learned from the mistakes we made in the first set and we tried to avoid doing the same mistakes in this match. Things then got better and better after that. It was a very good match and I really enjoyed the match,”said Jefferson.

“Tomorrow (Tuesday), we will play the Indonesian team that we have played them before. I think it is going to be a very tough game. We should play better than today if we want to be the champions.This tournament is really good. The weather here is quite hot, but I like playing here,” he added.

Meanwhile, in the women’s semifinals, Fan Wang/Yuan Yue of China, who dispatched compatriots Xie/Xue 21-16, 18-21, 15-9 in the round of the last eight teams, overcame a tough challenge from home favourites Varapatsorn Radarong/Tanarattha Udomchavee in epic 57-minute hard-fought battle 21-15, 15-21, 22-20

“I feel very happy to advance to the finals. The Thai team are very strong with good defense and offense. It was very difficult for us to beat them. This is my fourth time in Satun. I have trained with my partner five months before playing here. This tournament is great with amazing crowds. Against Australia in the finals tomorrow (Tuesday), we played them before and they are a very good team.We will try our best to win this tournament”, said Wang.

With the loss, the Thai pairing will take on the Japanese pair Suzuki/Ishii for the bronze medal.

“It was a really tough loss, but we were quite satisfied with our performance. In the first set, we played freely as we had nothing to lose, while the Chinese team played with the pressure. We had a chance to win but suddenly they just came out with powerful serves to put pressure on us in the third set. Congrats to them for playing well. We have trained hard since the beginning of the year to prepare our mental and physical fitness before this tournament. I would like to thank Satun people who cheered for us. We will try our best to get the bronze medal tomorrow,” said Tanaratta.

The other semi-final clash saw Australians Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy, who eliminated the last year’s runners-up Mashkova/Samalikova of Kazakhstan 21-14, 21-8 in the quarter-finals, too strong for Suzuki/Ishii as they thrashed the Japanese duo in straight sets 21-12, 21-18

“Japan are a very good team. They finished top at their pool. They played very well and we knew today would be a very tough match. But we got better and better in every game we played and we hope we can keep it going to the finals. Hopefully, we will finish on top of the tournament. We have played them many times. They are one of the very great teams in the World Tour. We have to bring out our best form to beat them,” said Bawden.

The Satun Pak Bara Beach Volleyball Master continues on Tuesday, the final day of the tournament. Bronze medal matches and final showdowns in both men’s and women’s events will be contested in the afternoon, followed by the awards presentation and the closing ceremony.

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