The 3rd Asian Beach Games started off on June 12 in Haiyang, China and featured beach volleyball tournament as an essential part of the campaign.
The women’s beach volleyball tournament at the Asian Beach came to close on June 18, while Thailand’s Radarong and Udomchavee claimed the gold-medal victory. They defeated China’s Hu and Chen in the final match on Monday. The final set scores were 2-1(21-23,
21-15, 16-14).
The home duo was equipped with stupendous support of local fans but still failed to overcome the visiting team.
Local pair caught a good start in the match and showed intense focus to down the visitors. With superb combination of attack and defence, Hu-Chen comfortably picked up lead in first set. Radarong and Udomchavee struggled to catch up with the opponents but
could not manage to break through the strong defence of Chinese pair. Hu and Chen controlled the operations of the game until the set points and finally closed opening frame at 23-21.
Following the loss of first set, Thai players came up with a new plan. They hit back aggressively and directed their shots in the rare gaps and corners. The formula perfectly worked out and Thailand went up. They successfully broke the rhythm of hosts and
pushed them behind. Strong offence and solid defence of Thais enabled them to claim second set, 21-15.
In the tie-breaker third set, both teams rallied hard to score every single point. The score soared up with incredibly close difference. Thailand’s defence proved to be very effective, while China’s attack errors caused them crucial damage. Radarong-Udomchavee
hit the mark with 16-14 win in third set and seized the title trophy.
Later in the day, Chinese Taipei’s Kou/Chang and Kazakhstan’s Tatyana/Irina fought for bronze medal. The third position match also spanned over three sets and put the two teams to a real test of temperament and skills.
Chinese Taipei's Kou/Chang proved to be better and posted 2-1 (21-16, 18-21, 15-13) victory over Kazakh duo of Tatyana and Irina.
Kou/Chang staged a consistence performance in the opening affair of the match and limited rivals to a very silent offense. Chang found seams in Kazakhstan’s half and availed all chances to raise her team’s score. As a result, C.T. pair had no difficulty
to claim the first set 21-16.
Kazakh ladies took a sweet revenge from the Taipei duo by sending 21-18 on board in the next set. They levelled the score in second set but could not defend their position in the third set. They dropped third set with two-point deficit 13-15 and lost the
match. Kou/Chang won the match with 2-1 ratio and took away the bronze.
Tags: