Impressive run by Reid and McManaway checked by top seeds Wang and Li in the final
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme teams continued to impress in the Beach Pro Tour as the New Zealand pair of Thomas Reid and John McManaway won silver at the Futures event held in Qidong, China.
Reid and McManaway, who were seeded second, are beneficiaries of a coach support Project in New Zealand where the FIVB has invested a total of CHF 216,000 since 2021. Under the project, head coach Jason Lochhead is assisted by Mike Watson, Craig Seuseu and Brad Takai.
After going through the group stages and knockout phase without dropping a set, Reid and McManaway stumbled at the last hurdle, losing 2-0 (21-19,21-14) to the number one seeded Chinese pair of Yanwei Wang and Jie Li.
It was a remarkable unbeaten run that started with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-10) win over China’s Lit Fung Lee and Yiu Ming Kam in their Pool B opener. Another 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) win over the Chinese duo of Yuhang Cheng and Chaowei Zhou earned them a quarterfinal slot after topping their group.
In the quarterfinals, Reid and McManaway overcame the third-seeded Australian pair of Joshua Howat and Jack Pearse 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) to book a place in the semifinals where they registered their third successive victory over a Chinese team, this time beating ChengDa Qin and Xiufeng Chen 2-0 (21-13, 21-12).
But it was Wang and Li, who had beaten Japan’s Yusuke Ishijima and Takumi Takahashi 2-0 (21-13, 21-15) in the semifinals, who finally stopped Reid and McManaway in the final to claim gold.
Ishijima and Takumi beat China’s Qin and Chen 2-0 (21-8, 21-18) in the third-place play-offs to settle for bronze.
A total of 16 teams drawn from six countries graced the men’s competition.
Meanwhile, hosts China dominated the women’s category, with two teams reaching the final. The pair of Zhou Mingli and Xu Yan, seeded 12th, emerged as champions after a 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) win over compatriots and top seeds Xinxin Wang and Zhu Lingdi.
Enroute to the final, Wang and Lingdi overcame Australian fourth seeds Elizabeth Alchin and Kayla Mears 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) in the semifinals while the unbeaten Zhou and Yan proved too good for third seeds Wenqin Han and Lvwen Yuan of China, beating them 2-0 (21-17, 21-16).
A total of 13 women teams from four nations – namely China, the USA, Lithuania and Australia – participated in the tournament.
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