THAILAND’S PITHAK & PORAVID, AUSSIES FEJES & JOHNSON WIN TAOYUAN OPEN IN CHINESE TAIPEI TO CELEBRATE THEIR FIRST AVC BEACH TOUR GOLD

August 27, 2024

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Taoyuan, Chinese language Taipei, August 26, 2024 – High seeds lived as much as their billing on the “Taichung Financial institution” AVC Seaside Tour Taoyuan Open at Dayuan Seaside Volleyball Courtroom right here on Monday, as Pithak Tipjan/Poravid Taovato and Stefanie Fejes/Georgia Johnson captured the respective males’s and girls’s titles.

THAILAND’S PITHAK & PORAVID, AUSSIES FEJES & JOHNSON WIN TAOYUAN OPEN IN CHINESE TAIPEI TO CELEBRATE THEIR FIRST AVC BEACH TOUR GOLD

Within the males’s showdown, Thailand’s high seeds Pithak/Poravid mastered a 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) shutout of second seeds Jack Pearse/D’Artagnan Potts and left their opponents from Australia with the silver.

Fejes/Johnson topped the ladies’s podium following their 23-21, 21-17 victory in opposition to second seeds Jasmine Fleming/Jana Milutinovic within the all-Aussies remaining conflict.

Fejes/Johnson entered the four-day match in Chinese language Taipei as the highest seeds within the ladies’s primary draw bracket, cruised to the ultimate undefeated and captured the ladies’s crown on a five-match successful run with out dropping a single set.

Present FIVB ladies’s seashore volleyball world No.60, Fejes/Johnson made a clear sweep in Pool A with sensational 2-0 wins in opposition to Thailand’s Jidapa Bunongkhun/Salinda Mungkhon and Lengthy On Ieng/Regulation Weng Sam of Macao, China to advance to the quarterfinals, the place the Australian duo repeatedly beat Thais Jidapa/Salinda 2-0 to storm into the semifinals.

Fejes/Johnson demolished Thailand’s third seeds Charunrutawadee Patcharamainaruebhorn/Woranatchayakorn Phirachayakrailert 2-0 within the semifinals to subsequent face off in opposition to world No.75 Jasmine Fleming/Jana Milutinovic within the remaining showdown, which Fejes/Johnson powered previous the compatriots 2-0 to finally reign supreme.

Earlier this yr in June, Fejes and Johnson had received their first Futures occasion as a group, taking out the occasion in Krakow, Poland the place the newly-formed mixture had been enjoying simply their fourth match collectively. Each gamers have received Futures golds earlier than with earlier teammates. For the 19-year-old Fejes, it was already the fourth Futures trophy in her assortment. She took all earlier three in a partnership with Jana Milutinovic at tournaments performed in Australia – Coolangatta 2023, Mollymook 2024 and Coolangatta 2024.

This April, Fejes and Milutinovic outplayed Fleming and Johnson to seize the ladies’s crown within the AVC Seaside Tour Nuvali Open within the Metropolis of Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines, whereas the 25-year-old Johnson’s solely earlier gold on the Seaside Professional Tour was additionally earned in Australia, on the 2023 Geelong Futures with Jasmine Fleming.

Fejes and Milutinovic switched partnership with Fleming and Johnson this Might and the Tianjin Open in China was the primary AVC Seaside Tour occasion that the newly-formed Fejes/Johnson took half in and secured silver medal there final month. The victory within the Taoyuan Open in Chinese language Taipei was, due to this fact, the unprecedented AVC Seaside Tour gold Fejes/Johnson had received as a group.

Within the semifinals earlier, Fejes/Johnson spent half-hour in outplaying Thailand’s Charunrutwadee/Woranatchayakorn 21-15, 21-8.

Fleming/Milutinovic struggled exhausting to beat fourth seeds Tara Phillips/Elizabeth Alchin 2-1 (21-19, 13-21, 15-13) within the all-Australians affair.

The bronze medal match noticed Aussies Phillips/Alchin bounce again to beat Thais Charunrutwadee/Woranatchayakorn in three-setter 12-21, 21-12, 15-10.

In the meantime, within the males’s occasion, Thailand’s Pithak/Poravid cruised previous second seeds Jack Pearse/D’Artagnan Potts 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) to seize the boys’s title.

The present world No.47 Thai duo had already picked up silver medals at two AVC Seaside Tour occasions this yr consisting of the Nuvali Open within the Philippines in April and the final month’s Tianjin Open in China, happening to Iranians Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab in each finals. Thus, the eventual title on the Taoyuan Open turned the very first AVC Seaside Tour occasion that Pithak/Poravid emerged victorious.

Nonetheless, the win within the Taoyuan Open was not the primary victory of Pithak/Poravid that they had claimed in worldwide competitions. The excellent duo had already received Thailand’s first medal within the Asian Championships in 10 years once they claimed bronze on the 2023 version in July in Fuzhou.

The Thai pairing had additionally claimed their first FIVB World Seaside Professional Tour title in December 2022 on the Futures occasion in Subic Bay, Philippines. They added one other podium end to begin the 2023 season once they positioned second on the Futures occasion in Coolangatta, Australia.

Pithak/Poravid had blended fortunes within the pool play within the Taoyuan Open, beating Japan’s Yusuke Ishijima/Kensuke Shoji 2-0 of their Pool A opener, however succumbed to 0-2 defeat to Kiwis Gregory David Vukets/John McManaway of their second encounter. Nonetheless, with solely three groups featured in Pool A and with the very best factors ratio, the Thai tandem completed atop Pool A to robotically advance to the quarterfinals, the place they beat Japan’s Nassim Malki/Kai Kurokawa 2-1 (23-21, 10-21, 15-9).

Within the semifinals, Pithak, who will flip 26 on September 4, and the 22-year-old Poravid struggled exhausting once more to beat Australians Luke Ryan/Joshua Howat 2-1 (21-11, 15-21, 15-9) earlier than shutting out one other Australian duo, Pearse/Potts, 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) within the showdown.

The opposite semifinal conflict earlier noticed Pearse/Potts bounce again with a nail-biting tie-break win 15-21, 21-19, 15-12 in opposition to Thailand’s third seeds and world No.87 Netitorn Muneekul/Wachirawit Muadpha.

The Thai pairing, who secured bronze medal on the Tianjin Open in China final month, repeated the same feat on Monday following their distinctive 21-18, 21-14 win in opposition to Australia’s twelfth seeds Luke Ryan/Joshua Howat within the third-place playoff for bronze medal.