Chon Buri, Thailand, November 8, 2014 – Vanuatu's Miller
Elwin and Linline Matauatu stunned Thailand's top seeds Varapatsorn Radarong
and Tanarattha Udomchavee to set up a final showdown with Japan's Takemi
Nishibori and Sayaka Mizoe in the FIVB Beach Volleyball Pattaya Challenger on
Saturday.
All four matches of the quarterfinals took place Saturday
morning, with the winners advancing to the do-or-die semi-finals in the
afternoon.
In the quarter-finals, Azerbaijan’s Vivian Danielle Da
Canceicao Cunha and Zinanda Liubymova came from behind to stun Kazakhstan’s
fourth seeds Tatyana Mashkova and Irina Tsimbalova Kaz, in a grueling 61-minute
hard-fought 2-1 (20-22 21-19 17-15) battle.
Also making the semi-finals were Japanese 10th seeds Takemi
Nishibori and Sayaka Mizoe, who played with guts and determination to beat
Italian seventh seeds Giulia Momoli and Laura Gombini 2-0 (21-17 27-25) while
top-seeds Varapatsorn Radarong and Tanarattha Udomchavee powered past
Australians Nicole Laird and Mariafe Artacho – the tournament’s second seeds
which finished second at the AVC Hong Kong Open – 2-0 (21-19 22-20).
Vanuatu’s 11th seeds Miller Elwin and Linline Matauatu,
fresh from capturing the AVC Hong Kong Open, breezed past Czechs Diana
Zolnercikova and Martina Jakubsova 2-0 (21-11, 21-13).
In the semi-finals, Japanese Takemi Nishibori and Sayaka
Mizoe, third place at the AVC Hong Kong Open, remained in exceptional form to
thrash Azerbaijan’s Vivian Danielle Da Canceicao Cunha and Zinanda Liubymova in
comfortable straight sets 2-0 (21-15, 21-16).
Thai hearts sank in the other semi-final clash when their
best and lone hopes Varapatsorn Radarong and Tanarattha Udomchavee, prone to
serving mistakes, lost to Vanuatu’s Miller Elwin and Linline Matauatu in
hard-fought three-set thriller 2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 9-15) in 50 minutes.
Varapatsorn and Tanarattha took silver medal at the recent
Asian Games in South Korea, and captured gold medal at the Haiyang-hosted Asian
Beach Games in China two years ago. With them being the only Thai duo entering
the semi-finals, Varapatsorn and Tanarattha became the brightest hopes of the
host nation. However, the duo’s bitter loss just let the home fans down.
The Thai duo now take on Azerbaijan’s Vivian Danielle Da
Canceicao Cunha and Zinaida Liubymova in the third-place playoff, while the
Elwin-Matauatu pairing and Japanese Takemi and Mizoe will fight it out for the
crown.
The third-place playoff is due to take place at 3.30pm,
followed by the final showdown at 4.30pm local time. Aside from the shared
US$50,000 prize money at stake, FIVB world ranking points are also up for
grabs. The eventual winners will receive 320 points, while respective three
runners-up claiming 288, 256 and 224 points.