Thais set up season-ending showdown
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Former Asian Beach Games champions Jarunee Sannok and Usa Tenpaksee of Thailand met with mixed fortunes on the opening day of the season-ending US$190,000 FIVB Phuket Thailand Open on Karon Beach yesterday.
Jarunee and Usa, the 10th seeds and bronze medallists at last year’s Asian Games, pulled off a dramatic 21-14 19-21 15-11 victory over Japanese Shinako Tanaka and Sayaka Mizoe in their opening clash. But in the afternoon second round, the Thais found Czechs Kristyna Kolocova and Slukova Marketa too strong, and went down tamely 21-14 21-15 in just 39 minutes.
Despite the loss, Jarunee and Usa can move through to the next round of the 32-team tournament today with a win over Kamoltip Kulna and Varapatsorn Radarong in an all-Thai battle.
Kamoltip – who boasts two straight SEA Games golds from her partnership with Yupa Phokrongploy – and new partner Varapatsorn lost to Netherlanders Merel Mooren and Jantine Van de Vlist 2-1 (22-20 25-27 15-12) before stunning Italians Gloria Daniela and Giulia Momoli in a hard-fought encounter 9-21 22-20 16-14.
The loser of today’s all-Thai shoot-out will be dumped out of the finale of the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour with a joint-17th finish in the six-day meet.
Yesterday saw Thailand’s other entrants, Tanarattha Udomchavee and Rampaipruet Numwong, suffer an early exit after two straight losses, beginning with a 21-12 21-11 defeat to top seeds and Guangzhou Asiad champions Chen Xue and Zhang Xi of China. The young duo then lost 21-17 21-18 to Russians Ekaterina Khomyakova and Anna Vozakova and were forced to settle for joint-25th place.
The Jarunee-Usa and Kamoltip-Varapatsorn partnerships went undefeated earlier this week in Phetchaburi to lead the Thai women’s team to victory at the AVC Continental Cup Zonal Beach Volleyball Tournament, a qualifying meet for next year’s London Olympics.
