Iran won the title of the “Smart” AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open in the Philippines’ City of Santa Rosa on Sunday.
11th seeds Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab defeated Thai third seeds Surin Jongklang/Dunwinit Kaewsai, 21-13, 21-17 in the final.
The tournament was organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation led by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
Iran’s Abbas Pourasgari/Alireza Aghajanighasab added another 320 AVC points to their AVC Beach Volleyball Ranking record after claiming gold with remarkable unbeaten streak at the “Smart” AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open, pulling off a stunning upset win against Thailand’s top seeds Pithak Tipjan/Poravid Taovato in the men’s final showdown at the world-class Nuvali Sand Courts by Ayala Land in City of Santa Rosa, Philippines on Sunday.
For Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab, the exceptional victory at the Nuvali Open was their first-ever gold in the AVC Beach Tour. However, the Iranian duo had already made their mark in international beach volleyball competitions, helping their National Federation win the AVC Continental Cup – Central Zone last September. They also claimed bronze at last August’s BPT Futures Wenzhou Cangan in China and fourth place at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games, making them the first Iranian pair ever to advance to the Asian Games semifinals.
Seeded 11th with 300 AVC points in hand, Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab kicked off their campaign on high note, mercilessly crushing Macao China’s Cheong Houwang/Ng Loilong 2-0 (21-5, 21-7) to later see off Japan’s sixth seeds Yusuke Ishijima Gottsu/Kensuke Shoji 2-0 (21-13, 22-20) for the top spot in Pool F. In the round of 16, the promising Iranians demolished Hong Kong China’s Wong Puilam/Lau Cheukyin 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) and continued their brilliance in the highly-anticipated quarterfinals. There, Pourasgari/Aghajanighasab stunned Australian second seeds Paul Burnett/Jack Pearse 2-0 (21-16, 21-17).
An upset win against the Aussies, who netted their first BPT gold in a Geelong Futures last November and two additional silvers at the BPT Futures Coolangatta and Mollymook this March, made the Iranians a dark horse to achieve success through their pursuit of fulfilment.
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