Indonesia clinched semi-final berth at Asian Beach Volleyball Championship
The city of Haikou in China highlighted a spectacular beach volleyball action last week. The incredible AVC Beach Volleyball Championship created a perfect opportunity for Asian players to demonstrate their skills and climb up the stairs of fame. The double-gender
championship continued from 19-24 October, 2010. In the men’s division, a total of 26 teams embarked on the scene and represented their respective countries. The beach volleyball duos from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Oman, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Iran, Indonesia, Australia,
Kazakhstan, Singapore and hosts China took part in the four-day competition.
The championship reached the final stage on Sunday, 24th October, 2010. Kazakhstan and Indonesia were among the semi-finalist teams along with two pairs from China. In the first semi-final, China’s Wu Penggen/Xu Linyin of ousted compatriots Gao
Peng and Li Jian with 2-0 victory. Similarly, the second semi-final of day saw Andy Ardiansyah and Koko Prasetyo Darkuncoro of Indonesia in a head to head battle with Kazakhstan’s Alexey Sidorenko and Alexandre Dyachenko. Both teams staged a great show and
kept the fans thrilled for the whole time. However, the luck was on Indonesia’s side as they thrashed 2-1 victory over Kazak team and qualified for the final contest with Wu/Xu of China.
Indonesia vs. Kazakhstan 2-1 (21-18, 15-21, and 15-13)
The important semi-final combat recorded a lot of highs and lows during the 63 minutes’ time. The game couldn’t reach a decision after the opening two sets but finally the victorious pair was defined in the third decisive set. The match was attended by great
number of enthusiasts who enjoyed every bit of it.
First Set
The two sides acted aggressively in the opening set. The third-seeded Indonesian Andy/Koko was on fire. They hit the long jump serves and supplied enough power to their shots. The quick digging and diving provided them an edge to add the first scores of
the game. Likewise, the second-seeded Alexey/Alexandre defended their position very well and received the ball with great skill. They showed a great temperament and worked out nice spikes.
Indonesia tried different strategies and successfully took a lead in the game. They created much trouble for the Kazakhstan’s team by throwing the ball in corners. On top of it, Andy was fond of hitting the ball at measured length. Kazakhstan put up good
effort but failed to catch up with the lightning speed of Indonesian players. Andy/Koko swiftly jumped on the finish line and secured first set with the help of 21-18.
Second Set
After dropping the first set, Kazakhstan followed a different approach and got hold of the game. They paid more attention to their defence line and improved on passing. In the meantime, Indonesian pair couldn’t properly tackle a few hard-knocks from Kazakh
side and suffered the damage. The game tuned into a heated competition as it moved to more aggressiveness. Indonesia threw everything in attack to end the match by winning the second set. Somehow, Kazak duo crashed their dream to finish the game in two sets
and prolong the game. They won the second set at 21-15 and forced them to play another set. The game was tied at 1-1 and 15-point golden set greeted both teams once again.
Third Set
The third decisive set was kicked off with sensible shots from both sides. Andy/Koko were upset with the shocking come-back of Kazakhstan in second set but they had understood the strategy of their opponents. They covered the weak spots and avoided the reception
errors. On the other side of the court, same thing was going on with Kazakhstan’s team. They used the advantage of victory and tried to take control of the operations in third set. The point-to-point battle progressed and rapidly inched towards the end line.
Kazak players struggled hard but couldn’t save the match. They lost the semi-final to Indonesia after losing third set at 15-13.
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