Thailand make clean sweep of beach titles
Hosts Thailand made a clean sweep of the two titles on offer in the 13th Samila-Chang Asian Beach Volleyball Tour at Samila Beach, Songkhla this week.
In Monday’s men’s final, Thailand 2’s Sittichai Sangkhachot and Prathip Sukto downed Kazakhstan’s Alexandr Dyachenko and Alexey Sidorenko 21-19 21-18 in 49 minutes of thrilling battle.
Thailand 2’s Tanarattha Udomchavee and Varapatsorn Radarong, fresh from winning the Khanom-Chang Asian Tour title in Nakhon Si Thammarat last week, beat Kazhakhstan 1’s Tatyana Mashkova and Irina Tsimbalova for the second time in a week, 21-19 17-19 15-10.
Earlier the young duo powered past China 1’s Huang Ying andDing Jingjing 21-18 17-21 15-6 in the first semi-final while Mashkova and Tsimbalova thrashed Thailand 3’s Supattra Juajan and Prateep Kambut 21-12 21-14.
In the final, Tanarattha and Varapatsorn were cheered on by a large crowd braving the searing heat at Samila Beach. A hard-fought battle in the first set saw the Thais step up at crucial points to take the opener. The formidable visitors then combined well to claim the second set and force a decider. But the exhausted Kazakhs were overrun in the tie-breaker by the hosts, who sealed the women’s crown.
Tanarattha and Varapatsorn claimed the US$2,200 winner’s cheque, while silver medallists Mashkova and Tshbalova took home US$1,700. The third-place play-off saw China 1’s Huang Ying and Ding Jingjing brush aside Thailand 3’s Supattra Juajan/Prateep Kambut 21-14 21-14. In the men’s semi-final, Dyachenko and Sidorenko, who won the title in Khanom, covered the court marvellously to crush Oman 1’s Bader Alsubri and Hassan Albalushi 21-13 21-15. In the other semi-final encounter, Sittichai and Prathip beat Australia 2’s Cedric Legrand and Joshua Court 21-13 10-21 15-8.
Against the much stronger Dyachenko and Sidorenko combo in the final, Sittichai and Prathip showed no sign of nerves in their determination to give the crowd something to shout about. A titanic struggle saw the Thais rise to their first major title, claiming US$2,200, leaving the Kazakhstan 1 side with US$1,700 from the presentation ceremony presided over by Thailand Volleyball Association president Somporn Chaibangyang.
Legrand and Court took third after beating Alsubri and Albalushi 21-18 21-15 in the play-off.
