Indonesia and Thailand share honours at Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championships

Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, March 25, 2018 – Indonesia's Danang Herlambang/Bintang Akbar ended hosts Thailand’s dreams of sweeping both titles at the 2018 Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championships when they produced a fantastic comeback 2-1 (14-21, 27-25, 15-13) win over Thailand’s Phanupong Thanan/Phichakon Narathon in the men’s final.

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The double-gender, three-day competition served as the Asian qualification tournament for the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships in Nanjing, China from July 10-15 and the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 6 to 18, with the top three countries in each gender progressing.

“We are very happy to win the title. We lost the first set because we played nervously. It might be because this is our first international tournament. We moved faster and tried to come up with strong attacks and serves in the second and third sets. I think that’s the key to our win. After this, we will train much harder in preparation for the U19 World Championships in China. To improve our skills, we will train with Indonesia’s senior teams and seek more opportunities to compete in international tournaments,” said Danang through interpreter coach Bambang Eko S.

In the third-place playoff, Kazakhs Mokhammad/Aldash downed Pakistan’s Zarnab/Afaq 2-0 (21-11, 21-11) to claim bronze.

In the women's competition, Thatsarida Singchuea/Pawarun Chanthawichai restored Thai pride when they overpowered Chinese pair Zeng Jinjin/Cao Shuting 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) in the women’s final to add another title to their tally. Thatsarida and Pawarun had already captured the 2016 Asian U17 Championships and the Asian U21 Championships.

In the semifinals earlier, Thatsarida/Pawarun powered past Indonesians Vitria Rahayu/Ragil Ningtyas 2-0 (21-10, 23-21), while Chinese Zeng/Cao beat Kazakhstan’s Alina Rachenko/Yelizaveta Yeropkina 2-0 (21-17, 25-23).

Kazakhstan’s Alina Rachenko/Yelizaveta Yeropkina beat Indonesians Vitria Rahayu/Ragil Ningtyas 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) in the third-place playoff.

Sunday's results
Men:
Semifinals: Phanupong Thanan/Phichakon Narathon (Thailand) b Abdulmajid Mokhammad/Nurdos Aldash (Kazakhstan) 2-1 (21-9, 19-21, 15-4); Danang Herlambang/Bintang Akbar (Indonesia) b Zarnab Khan/Afaq Khan (Pakistan) 2-0 (21-17, 21-17)
Third-place playoff: Abdulmajid Mokhammad/Nurdos Aldash (Kazakhstan) b Zarnab Khan/Afaq Khan (Pakistan) 2-0 (21-11, 21-11)
Final: Danang Herlambang/Bintang Akbar (Indonesia) b Phanupong Thanan/Phichakon Narathon (Thailand) 2-1 (14-21, 27-25, 15-13)

Women
Semifinals: Thatsarida Singchuea/Pawarun Chanthawichai (Thailand) b Vitria Rahayu/Ragil Ningtyas (Indonesia) 2-0 (21-10, 23-21); Zeng Jinjin/Cao Shuting (China) b Alina Rachenko/Yelizaveta Yeropkina (Kazakhstan) 2-0 (21-17, 25-23)
Third-place playoff: Alina Rachenko/Yelizaveta Yeropkina (Kazakhstan) b Vitria Rahayu/Ragil Ningtyas (Indonesia) 2-0 (21-16, 21-18)
Final: Thatsarida Singchuea/Pawarun Chanthawichai (Thailand) b Zeng Jinjin/Cao Shuting (China) 2-0 (21-15, 21-18)

Final rankings
Men
1. Indonesia
2. Thailand
3. Kazakhstan
4. Pakistan
5. China, Iran, Oman, Sri Lanka
9. Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Chinese Taipei
17. Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Vietnam

Women
1. Thailand
2. China
3. Kazakhstan
4. Indonesia
5. Hong Kong, Japan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam
9. India, Maldives, Singapore, Chinese Taipei
13. Laos, Myanmar