International Volleyball

AVC BEACH TOUR 23RD SAMILA OPEN REACHES CRUNCH TIME, WITH QUALIFIED TEAMS CONTESTING GRIPPING ROUND OF 16 KNOCKOUT PHASE

AVC BEACH TOUR 23RD SAMILA OPEN REACHES CRUNCH TIME, WITH QUALIFIED TEAMS CONTESTING GRIPPING ROUND OF 16 KNOCKOUT PHASE

Songkhla, Thailand, April 14, 2024 – Hosts Thailand and Australia ruled the roost on a much-anticipated Day 2 of the AVC Beach Tour 23rd Samila Open with five pairings apiece through to the Monday’s round of 16, as Australians Ben Hood/D’Artagnan Potts unfortunately crashed out of the men’s event and all top 10 seeds cruised their ways to the women’s elimination stage.

On Sunday, three men’s pairings including top seeds Pithak Tipjan/Poravid Taovato and two women’s duos of the host nation made it to the round of 16.

Powerhouses Australia secured two men’s teams including third seeds Mark Nicolaidis/Izac Carracher and three women’s pairings spearheaded by top seeds Stefanie Fejes/Jana Milutinovic, fresh from winning the last week’s AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open in Philippines. 

Among those advancing in the men’s event were three teams from Thailand, two apiece from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Iran and China and one team from Qatar, while the women’s round of 16 see three teams from Australia, two teams each from Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Vanuatu and one team apiece from Kazakhstan, Hong Kong China, Macao China, New Zealand and Indonesia join the fray.

Top teams survived scorching heat with a maximum temperature typically around 33-37 degrees Celsius at the Samila Beach on Sunday to power past their tough opponents in the pool play and stay on course when the competitive competition has reached the round of 16 on Monday morning and quarterfinals later in the afternoon. 

In the thrilling men’s event, unbeaten top seeds Pithak, 25, and Poravid, 23, keep the Thai flag flying high as the last year’s Fuzhou-hosted Asian Championships bronze medallists remain unbeaten in pool play after an impressive 2-0 (22-20, 21-16) win against Akbar Bintang/Efendi Sofyan for a perfect sweep in Pool A, while the Indonesian duo ended their preliminary matches in second place.

However, with only top two teams in each pool advancing, both teams booked their berths in the round of 16

Pithak and Poravid will next go up against Kittituch Khomkham/Phichakon Narathon in the Monday’s all-Thais round of 16 encounter. Kittituch/Phichakon stormed past Qataris Adem Saber Lajili/Nour Mondher Othmen in a totally lopsided battle 21-8, 21-4 in just 24 minutes to finish second in Pool H on Sunday.

For Bintang/Sofyan, an uphill task awaits them in round of 16 when the Indonesians will face off against China’s second seeds and reigning champions Wu…

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