Ningbo, China, September 20, 2023 – Top 3 seeds proved their superiority by embracing victories on Day 2 of the 19th Asian Games Women’s Beach Volleyball Competition here at Xiangshan Beach Volleyball Center.
In Pool A, No. 1 seeds Xue/Xia of China made their debut at the Games with a satisfactory 2-0 (21-11, 21-5) win over No. 8 seeds Rodriguez/Eslapor of Philippines in 28 minutes.
In Pool B, No. 2 seeds Naraphornrapat/Kongphopsarutawadee of Thailand encountered more troubles produced by Wong/To of Hong Kong, China, but they managed to conquer the opponents in a convincing 2-0 (21-15, 21-17) to harvest their second consecutive win.
In Pool C, No. 3 seeds Mizoe/Ishii of Japan set out their voyage at the Games with a comfortable 2-0 (21-11, 21-14) victory against No. 6 seeds Phirachayakrailert/Patcharamainaruebhorn of Thailand.
However, No. 4 seeds Hasegawa/Sakaguchi of Japan started their preliminary round in Pool D with a failure as they suffered a 0-2 (17-21, 12-21) loss to the host, No. 5 seeds Wang/Dong.
The Japanese duo could keep up with the host from the beginning until 12-12 tie. But their attacking patterns were gradually seen through, as they were blocked several times afterwards. China seized the chance to extend the lead plus with some occasional ace services. Following a deadly counterattack by Dong Jie, China wrapped up the first set in 21-17.
China continued to emit efficient ace services in the second set, establishing an 8-5 lead. Japan attempted different methods of play to fight back, chasing closely behind in 11-13. However, China maintained their strategy relying on their height advantage and scored 5 points in a row to set the winning tone. Following a dip by Wang Fan, China concluded the second set in 21-12.
In the other two matches held in the morning session, Shin/Kim of Korea tasted their second loss as they were defeated by No. 9 seeds Kabulbekova/Ivanchenko of Kazakhstan in 0-2 (18-21, 13-21), while Progella/Matibag of Philippines surrendered in 0-2 (14-21, 10-21) to Juliana/Ratnasari of Indonesia, who accumulated 2 wins in succession.
The afternoon session saw another two one-sided matches. Bottom seeded Badalbekova/Khurshedodova of Tajikistan had to make forfeit due to their injury in the second set. Rachenko/Ukolova of Kazakhstan therefore took an easy 2-0 (21-6, 21-2) win following their unfortunate 1-2 loss on the opening day.
Despite a 0-2 loss to their neighbor pair of Macao, China on the previous day,…
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