AVC Women’s continental Cup: Day-1 Recap - Beach Volleyball News
The AVC Women’s Continental Beach Volleyball Cup started off in Nanning, China this past Wednesday, November 30. A total of eight female tandems from four countries hit the sands on Chinese shores and showcased wonderful beach volleyball action. Host China,
Hong Kong, Japan, and Chinese Taipei each sent two teams in the Eastern Zonal Tournament. The opening day of the tournament featured eight matches, where China and Japan beat the opponents and earned tickets to the final round. Success on Day 1 enabled China
and Japan to vie for the top two positions, while Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong were left to fight for third position. The top team of tournament would get a ticket to the 2012 London Olympic Games.
24th-ranked Chinese duo of Huang Ying and Yue Yuan opened the competition with an easy victory over Liu Pi Hsin and Wu Chia Wei of Chinese Taipei. The visiting team failed to match its performance with the hosts and dropped the match in straight
sets. They received a 0-2 (8-21,12-21) defeat.
In the following match, Chinese Taipei’s top pair Chang h*i Min and Kou Nai Han went against the home duo of Zhang Changning and Ma Yuanyuan. Comparatively saying, the second match was played on a complete different note. Taipei players engaged the Chinese
team for solid 55 minutes. China secured opening set by sending 21-19 on board before Chinese Taipei hit the equalizer by winning second set, 21-17. In the final set, China managed to beat Chinese Taipei with two points (15-13) and pulled off success in the
match, 2-1.
The winning duo of Zhang and Ma returned to action in the third match and held of Liu and Wu of Chinese Taipei for 2-0 (21-15, 21-9) victory. Likewise, Huang Ying and Yue Yuan managed to seal a 21-17, 21-14 win over Chang h*i Min and Kou Nai Han in the fourth
match. Hence, China finished off Day-1 with 3-1 record.
The team manager of the Chinese beach volleyball team, Wang Jianping, stated: “Zhang Changning and Ma Yuanyuan are young, especially Zhang who is only 15 years old. The inconsistence of their performance is normal. Besides, the pair of Chinese Taipei is not
weak at all. I hope they can learn experience from the lost and perform better in the following matches.”
On the other hand, Japanese duos produced similar results as China. Satoko Urata and Takemi Nishibori breezed past Yip Wai Man and Chan Mei Kit of Hong Kong in an easy match and claimed 2-0 (21-9, 21-5) victory. The duo of Shinako Tanaka and Sayaka Mizoe
did the same against Wong Yuen Mei and NG Tin Lai and finished the match in straight sets 21-10, 21-14.
In the afternoon session, Japanese women took little time in obtaining their victory in the third match. Satoko Urata and Takemi Nishibori continued their excellent performance and overcame Wong Yuen Mei and NG Tin Lai 21-12, 21-10. Shinako Tanaka and Sayaka
Mizoe showed no mercy in beating Yip Wai Man and Chan Mei Kit China 21-8, 21-13. Hence, Japan and China remained undefeated and qualified for the next round matches.
Tags: