HOSTS THAILAND DOMINATE DAY 1 AT ASIAN U19 BEACH VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Asian Volleyball Confederation

March 2018
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Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, March 23, 2018 – Top seeds Thailand got their Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championships campaign off to a brilliant start with two straight wins to capture the Pool A top spots in both men’s and women’s events at the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Sports School competition site on Friday.

The double-gender, three-day competition attracted a total of 37 teams including 23 men’s to vie for the top honours and quotas on offer for the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina and the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships in China later this year.

The pool round-robin preliminaries started in a hot Friday morning which saw players look exhausted and understandably so given those daunting tasks against the tough rivals under the scorching sun.

In the men’s event, Thailand’s Phanupong Thanan/Phichakon Narathon, who captured gold at the 2016 Asian U17 Beach Volleyball Championships on home soil in Ratchaburi, registered their first win after thrashing Malaysia’s Juan Ang How/Young Kuck Kwan in comfortable straight sets 21-15 21-12 in just 28 minutes. The Thai duo continued their winning streak by storming past Myanmar’s Tint Naing Win/Saw Ni Role 21-9 21-15. With two wins in a row, the Thai team are assured of claiming the top spot in Pool A and advancing to the round of the last 16.

“Against Myanmar, we played according to the coach’s advice. I think we learned their tactics well. My retrieves and attacks worked out pretty well, but I still need techniques to improve my serving skill,” said Phichakon.

“We have to do our best in every match we play and set our expectation one at a time. Much tougher tasks await us in the next rounds,” Phanupong added.

Indonesia also made their mark with a clean sweep in Pool C. The superb Indonesian duo of Danang Herlambang/Bintang Akbar pulled off a convincing straight-set 21-14 21-15 win over Indians Ravi Robin/Kalidoss Rishither before claiming their second one-sided 21-5 21-13 win over Nepal’s Ashok Sunar/Prakash K.C.

Second seeds Qatar failed to make the grade. Qataris Mohamed Musa Ali/Ali Rashid Alkuwari succumbed to straight two sets 14-21 11-21 to Cambodians Set Davin/Tat Phavin and went down to Zainab Khan/Afaq Khan from Pakistan 14-21 12-21. Losing two matches in a row foiled the Qataris’ chances of advancing to the round of the last 16.

In the women’s competition, top seeds Thailand’s Thatsarida Singchuea/Pawarun Chanthawichai lived up to their billing as they shone through their exceptional form to clinch consecutive two victories over Sri Lanka and Singapore in Pool A for a place in the quarter-finals.

Indonesia also played well beyond expectation. Vitoria Rahayu/Ragil Ningtyas defied against all odds to beat much taller Kazakhstan in straight sets and repeated the similar feat against India to top Pool D and secure a quarter-final berth.

“We played better than Kazakhstan today. The Kazakhs also played well, but I think they lacked combination and communication. Actually, we trained hard for one month in Central Java before coming here for the Asian meet. We have no problem with the court and weather conditions although the sand is a bit coarse with some tiny stones on the court. We just play confidently and hope for the best that we can win here,” Vitria Rahayu said in an interview through interpreter.

Also advancing to the quarter-finals following two straight wins in their pools are China’s Zeng Jinjin/Cao Shuting in Pool B and Japan’s Rina Seki/Mayu Miyoshi in Pool C.

On Saturday, the pool round-robin preliminaries in the women’s event continue in the morning session, with the quarter-finals being held later in the afternoon, while the men’s teams will compete in the round of the last 16 and quarter-finals.

Friday’s results
Men
Pool A: Thailand b Malaysia 2-0 (21-15 21-12), Malaysia b Myanmar 2-1 (21-17 15-21 15-5), Thailand b Myanmar 2-0 (21-9 21-15)
Pool B: Cambodia b Qatar 2-0 (21-14 21-11), Pakistan b Cambodia 2-0 (21-13 21-15), Pakistan b Qatar 2-0 (21-14 21-12)
Pool C: Indonesia b India 2-0 (21-14 21-5), India b Nepal 2-0 (21-7 21-8), Indonesia b Nepal 2-0 (21-5 21-13)
Pool D: Iran b Chinese Taipei 2-1 (21-14 15-21 15-12), Iran b Vietnam 2-0 (21-0 21-0) Forfeit of Team B
Pool E: Kazakhstan b Laos 2-0 (21-9 21-2), Kazakhstan b Saudi Arabia 2-0 (21-0 21-0) Forfeit of Team B
Pool F: Sri Lanka b Japan 2-1 (20-22 21-16 15-6), Japan b Philippines 2-0 (21-0 21-0) Forfeit of Team B
Pool G: Oman b Maldives 2-0 (21-14 21-12)
Pool H: China b Hong Kong 2-0 (21-15 21-16)

Women
Pool A: Thailand b Sri Lanka 2-0 (21-17 21-14), Thailand b Singapore 2-0 (21-8 21-10)
Pool B: China b Vietnam 2-0 (25-23 21-17), China b Chinese Taipei 2-1 (16-21 21-15 15-10)
Pool C: Japan b Hong Kong 2-0 (21-17 21-8), Maldives b Myanmar 2-0 (21-16 21-11), Japan b Myanmar 2-0 (23-21 21-10), Hong Kong b Maldives 2-0 (21-17 21-14)
Pool D: Indonesia b Kazakhstan 2-0 (21-17 21-16), India b Laos 2-0 (21-14 21-15), Kazakhstan b Laos 2-0 (21-9 21-3), Indonesia b India 2-0 (21-8 21-14)

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