Tianjin, China, July 13, 2024 – We are approaching the conclusion of the AVC Beach Tour Tianjin Open, which already had two semifinalists in both men’s and women’s events at Dongjiang Gulf Beach, Binhai here to fight for top honor and the highest AVC ranking points 320 on Sunday.
In the women’s event, China is assured of securing one slot in the final as eighth seeds Wang Fan/Bai Bing will face off against seventh seeds Yan Xu/Zhou Mingli in the all-Chinese semifinal clash at the Center Court at 9am local time, while Japan’s fifth seeds Asami Shiba/Saki Maruyama will fight it out with second seeds Stafanie Fejes/Georgia Johnson of Australia in the other semifinal encounter at the same time on Court 2. The third-place playoff and the final match are due to be held at 2pm on Court 2 and Center Court respectively.
On Saturday, Chinese Wang/Bai showcased their exceptional form as the Chinese pair brushed off Thailand’s Patcharaporn Seehawong/Samitta Simarongnam 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in round of last 16.
They made it two on the trot following their second victory against another Thai duo, Charanrutwadee Patcharamainaruebhorn/Woranatchayakorn Phirachayakrailert 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) in the quarterfinals.
Chinese Yan Xu/Zhou Mingli also claimed two consecutive wins on Saturday. The Chinese first downed Hong Kong, China’s To Wing Tung/To Wing Man 2-0 (21-13, 21-15) to later demolish Wang Jingzhe/Mushajiang Aheidan 2-0 (23-21, 21-17) in the all-Chinese quarterfinal affair.
Japanese Shiba/Maruyama outplayed Riko Tsujimura/Takemi Nishibori 2-0 (21-8, 21-18) in the all-Japanese clash of round of 16 but struggled hard to beat Chinese Wang Xinxin/Xing Jiayi in tie-breaker 21-15, 13-21, 15-13 in the quarterfinal encounter.
Jasmine Fleming/Jana Milutinovic had a difficult match against Akiko Hasegawa/Miki Ishii to stun the Japan’s top seeds with a comeback 2-1 (12-21, 21-13, 18-16) win in round of last 16. However, in the quarterfinal match, Fleming/Milutinovic found Stafanie Fejes/Georgia Johnson too hot to handle to go down tamely 0-2 (18-21, 17-21) in the all-Australian affair.
Meanwhile, the men’s event also sees Thailand advance to the final showdown as sixth seeds Netitorn Muneekul/Wachirawit Muadpha will up against top seeds Pithak Tipjan/Poravid Taovato in the all-Thai semifinal clash on Court 2 at 10am local time, with Iran’s fifth seeds Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab challenging third seeds Wang Yanwei/Liu Chuanyong in the second…
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