HOST PAIR RACHMAWAN/ASFIYA TO SET CLASH WITH QATAR’S AHMED/CHERIF IN THE FINAL SHOWDOWN OF ASIAD BV COMPETITION
Palembang, Indonesia, August 26, 2018 – Qatar’s AHMED/CHERIF cruised to the final showdown with unbeaten record after squeezing China’s GAO/LI out while host pair RACHMAWAN/ASFIYA followed to join the champion contest after eliminating their compatriots GILANG/DANANGSYAH at the semifinals of men’s beach volleyball competition of the 18th Asian Games Jakarta Palembang 2018 here at Jakabaring Sport City Beach Volleyball Court.
Facing the world 10th ranked AHMED/CHERIF of Qatar, China’s GAO/LI did caused some troubles but finally conceded in a narrow 0-2 (18-21, 24-26).
China started the first set with a power attack to lead 1-0. But they soon found they were not in the same pace with their opponent, as Qatar’s AHMED/CHERIF moved faster with more diverse plays. China were left behind 9-12 when reaching the technical timeout and the gap was widened to 11-15 following a mighty spike from Qatar. Maybe irritated by the spike, China launched a series of counterattacks to chase up to 15-15 tie by bagging 4 points in a row. Qatar called a prompt timeout before they quickly regained the lead and finished the set 21-18 following a ace serve by Cherif Samba.
Taller Chinese duo made full use of their height advantage in the beginning of set 2 and established an 8-4 lead due to several good blocks. But Qatar quickly found the way to deal with China’s blocks and caught up to 8-9 behind. Losing the leading advantage, China called a timeout but they could not pull away the opponent any more. Both sides traded blows till 19-18. following a serving error by Qatar, China reached the set point at 20-18 but they wasted the two set points. The deuce continued to 24-24 before Qatar edged out 26-24 following a crispy block and a destructive serve.
In the Indonesian derby semifinals match, both teams made it a showcase of their skills, especially in the second set, which featured many exciting rallies. Finally higher seeded RACHMAWAN/ASFIYA defeated their fellows GILANG/DANANGSYAH in straight 2-0 (21-13, 21-19).
“We are glad we both teams will play in the final day. The team would compete in the finals was not a team of two individuals, but a team of the Indonesian nation. Hopefully we will get one gold and one bronze.” said Ade Candra Rachmawan.
“We met the Qatari players once before. We will be all-out because we have the support of the Indonesian people.” Ade Candra Rachmawan added concerning the final match.
The men’s beach volleyball competition of the 18th Asian Games Jakarta Palembang 2018 takes place at Jakabaring Sport City Beach Volleyball Court in Palembang. The finals will be held Tuesday afternoon, seeing host RACHMAWAN/ASFIYA take on AHMED/CHERIF of Qatar for gold medal and the other host duo GILANG/DANANGSYAH fight against GAO/LI of China for bronze medal.
Palembang, the capital of the South Sumatra province and the host city of 2011 Southeast Asian Games, was granted the right to co-host the 17th Asian Games with Jakarta on 25 July 2014 at the OCA Council Meeting held in Kuwait. This is for the first time that the Asian Games are being co-hosted in two cities. The 18th Asian Games will be held in Jakarta and Palembang of Indonesia from August 18th to September 2nd 2018.
Men’s Match Result and Schedule
August 26, 2018, Semifinals
CHN (GAO/LI) v QAT (AHMED/CHERIF) 0-2 (18-21, 24-26)
INA (RACHMAWAN/ASFIYA) v INA (GILANG/DANANGSYAH) 2-0 (21-13, 21-19)
August 28, 2018, Finals
Local time
15:00 Bronze medal match – INA (GILANG/DANANGSYAH) v CHN (GAO/LI)
16:00 Gold medal match – INA (RACHMAWAN/ASFIYA) v QAT (AHMED/CHERIF)