Xue and Xia brush aside Americans Ross and Day for Thailand Open title

The 189cm-tall Xue partnered Zhang Xi to win the top-flight Phuket meet in 2006 and repeated the feat in 2011. Xue, who teamed up with Zhang to win the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010 and the World Championship in Poland this July, turned to the 16-year-old Xi Xinyi for their first outing in the Xiamen Grand Slam last month. The Chinese duo finished ninth at home.

Contesting before a packed crowd at the Karon Beach, the highly-skilled Xue used her height advantage to attack aggressively at the net and drop efficiently for the Chinese team’s convincing 21-16 win over the world No 36 Americans in the opening game. The Chinese duo, world No 124 and 11th seeds, maintained their excellent form by combing well in the second game, where they led from the start to finish to capture the crucial set 21-18 and the championship.

 “I am the older girl in the team. Xinyi is the new girl and we don’t have much experience playing together. We just take ball by ball and if we lose we don’t think too much and lose sleep over it,” said Xue.

 “It was so hot here and China was damn cold now. But we were just like everybody else here and we were fine with the weather conditions. Of course Phuket is a lucky place for us,” she added.

Xia said she has learned much from Xue in the last few months. “I am like a student of Xue Chen and I am learning from her. I need to work on improving myself and also our teamwork. I need to work hard because I haven’t been playing for very long,” said Xia.

Earlier, the Salgado sisters, Maria Clara and Carolina, powered past world No 5 Agatha Bednarczuk and Maria Antonelli in an all-Brazilian third-place play-off 21-18 24-22 in 47 minutes.

It was the second time this year that world No 3 and fourth seeds Maria Clara and Carolina, champions at the FIVB Moscow Grand Slam, beat their compatriots. At the FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam in the USA in July, the Salgado sisters struggled to beat Bednarczuk and Antonelli in epic two sets 23-21 31-29 in the quarter-finals.

At the awards presentation, winners Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi received gold medals and US$21,000 from Sakon Wannapong, deputy governor, Sports Authority of Thailand.

Silver medallists Ross and Day took home US$16,000 including $8,000 bonus, while bronze medallists Maria Clara and Carolina claimed US$6,000 plus US$6,000 bonus. Fourth-placed finishers Agatha Bednarczuk and Maria Antonelli received US$9,000.