Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei, August 25, 2024 – Thailand and Australia lock horns on Monday, the final day of the “Taichung Bank” AVC Beach Tour Taoyuan Open at Dayuan Beach Volleyball Court here, as only Thais and Aussies powered their ways into much-anticipated men’s and women’s semifinals of the four-day competition.
Three Australian teams advanced to the women’s semifinals on Monday. Australia’s top seeds Stefanie Fejes/Georgia Johnson will face off against Thailand’s third seeds Charunratwadee Patcharamainaruebhorn/Woranatchayakorn Phirachayakrailert in the first encounter, with fourth seeds Tara Phillips/Elizabeth Alchin challenging second seeds Jasmine Fleming/Jana Milutinovic in the other all-Aussies semifinal clash.
The men’s semifinals on Monday morning see Thailand’s top seeds Pithak Tipjan/Poravid Taovato go up against Australia’s 12th seeds Luke Ryan/Joshua Howat, with second seeds Jack Pearse/D’Artagnan Potts from Australia taking on Thailand’s third seeds Netitorn Muneekul/Wachirawit Muadpha.
In the women’s quarterfinals on Sunday, Australians Fejes/Johnson, who had already captured gold medal at the 2024 World Beach Pro Tour Futures Krakow in Poland and winners at this year’s Samila Open in Songkhla, Thailand aside from picking up silver at last month’s Tianjin Open in China, brushed off Thailand’s Jidapa Bunongkhun/Salinda Mungkhon 2-0 (21-14, 21-16).
Thais Charanrutwadee/Woranatchayakorn struggled to beat Chinese Taipei’s Liu Pi Hsin/Wu Shu-Fen 2-1 (21-17, 19-21, 15-12) in exhausting 58 minutes.
The other two quarterfinal encounters saw Phillips/Alchin outplay Filipinas Genesa Jane Eslapor/Mary Klymince Orillaneda 2-0 (21-19, 21-14).
Another Australian tandem, Fleming/Milutinovic, also made their mark following a 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) shutout of Thailand’s Patcharaporn Seehawong/Samitta Simarongnam.
In the men’s event, one of the tournament’s strong title contenders, Iran’s fifth seeds Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab, who had already sealed two titles this year comprising the Nuvali Open in City of Santa Rosa, Philippines this April and Tianjin Open in China in July, crashed out in the quarterfinals after 1-2 (16-21, 21-17, 10-15) loss to Australians Pearse/Potts.
Aussies Ryan/Howat secured a semifinal berth following their 22-20, 21-18 victory against Thailand’s Dunwinit Kaewsai/Kittituch Khomkham in the quarterfinals on Sunday, while Thailand’s Netitorn/Wachirawit bounced back to…
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