Japan settles for third position in 2010 Asian Games Men’s Beach Volleyball Tournament
The extreme action of Men’s Beach Volleyball tournament at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China rounded off on Wednesday, 24th November, 2010. The hosts China captured the top two positions in the tournament, while Japan and Kazakhstan
clashed in the third position match. Out of two duos from Japan, pairing of Kentaro Asahi and Katsuhiro Shiratori paved their way to the semi-finals but lost the match to China’s second-seeded duo of Gao Peng and Li Jian. On the other hand, China’s top-seeded
Wu Penggen and Xu Linyin outplayed Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Yakovlev and Alexey Kuleshov in the other semi-final.
Both losers of the semi-finals came together and fought for third position. Japan’s team staged a stellar performance and pulled off victory in the bronze medal match. The match ended after a two-set game and Kazak team failed to put up with the heavy strike
of Japanese team.
Japan vs. Kazakhstan 2-0 (21-14, 21-10)
Both teams entered the court with their athletic socks on and with great plans to win the match. The first whistle of referee echoed the sound of smashing serve by Asahi. He took a bigger run up and floated the ball in air with style. The next moment, the
ball moved like a bullet and crossed the net. The powerful serve created trouble for Kazak defender. Japan helped the first runs on the board and tried to dominate the other side. Kazakhstan faced a strong adversary in the shape of Asahi and Shiratori. Japan
led the game in first set with strong lead. Both partners complimented each other. Asahi was on serve, while Shiratori stood well behind the net. Japanese duo continued with success and covered the length of first set with success. They secured the first set
with the help of 21-14.
The victory defined the clear dimension for Japanese team to make further progress. On contrary, Kazakhstan’s team dragged under pressure and demonstrated shaky performance. Too many unforced ball-reception errors caused them major damage. Japanese side
got more powerful with explosive hitting and flawless performance. They restricted their opponents to a low score and kept an upper hand on them. Kazakhstan failed to create a spark in the game and trailed behind in score chase. Japanese side contributed quick
points and thrashed 21-10 victory over Kazakhstan in second set. Japan captured the bronze medal, while Kazakhstan had to stay at fourth spot.
Post match
Japan’s Asahi had his say after the match. He said, "We wanted a medal, and after losing our chance of gold we were desperate to beat Kazakhstan for bronze instead. We got there eventually. In terms of our chances for London 2012, we will try to play as
many games as possible to gain more experience. I will improve my speed and strength and we will strive for success on the international stage."
After the successful completion of 16th Asian Games Men’s Beach Volleyball Tournament, the final rankings have been revealed. The teams are positioned as followed:
1- Wu Penggen- Xu Linyin – China
2- Gao Peng- Li Jian – China
3- Asahi-Shiratori – Japan
4- Yokovlev-Alexey - Kazkhstan
5- Andy-Koko - Indonesia
6- Farrokhi-Salagh - Iran
7- Alexandr-Alexey - Kazakhstan
8- Khalifa-Abdullah - Oman
9- Wai-Pong - Hong Kong
10- Dian-Candra - Indonesia
11- Reza-Rahman - Iran
12- Inoue-Hasegawa - Japan
13- Rafi-Chong Long - Malaysia
14- Haitham-Ahmed - Oman
15- Asanka-Pubudu - Sri Lanka
16- Panu Pong-Niphon - Thailand
17- Van Sak-Mengheak - Camron
18- Jameel-Ravi - India
19- Kasi-Kiran - India
20- TAE Young-Yong Seok - Korea
21- NDIR-Tareq - Qatar
22- Mahesh-Wasantha - Sri Lanka
23- Aiman-Ashraf - Yemen
24- Mahfoudh-Assar - Yemen
25- Sothearith-Rom - CAM
26- Gwang In-Jun Yong - Korea
27- Mahmoud-Ismaeel - Qatar
28- Sittichai-Teerapat - Thailand
29- Xavier-Soares - TLS
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