Australian Beach Volleyball players won three medals - one gold, one silver and one bronze - at the AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open 2024 held in Laguna, the Philippines.
Playing at the Nuvali Sand Courts in the City of Santa Rosa, Australia’s Stefanie Fejes and Jana Milutinovic were crowned women’s champions after defeating compatriots Jasmine Fleming and Georgia Johnson, 21-19, 25-23 in the final on Sunday.
Fejes and Milutinovic, ranked 51st in the women’s world beach volleyball rankings, took 52 minutes to overcome their fellow countrywomen and training partners, who are currently world No. 47.
The final proved to be a hard-fought affair. Fejes and Milutinovic endured a difficult start before regaining their composure and took the closely contested first set 21-19.
The second set also went deep as Fleming and Johnson pushed the top seeds and threatened to take the final to a third set. However, Fejes and Milutinovic held their ground and won 25-23 against the second seeds to conquer their first Asian Tour title.
Fejes and Milutinovic had earlier beaten Suzuka Hashimoto and Reika Murakami of Japan 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) in the semi-finals.
Fleming and Johnson also got the better of Japanese third seeds Asami Shiba and Saki Maruyama 21-17, 21-17 in the other semis to secure an all-Aussie final at the Nuvali Open.
In the men’s draw, D’Artagnan Potts and Ben Hood, the world No. 103, overcame a semi-final defeat to win the bronze medal match and ensured that Australian teams finished with a medal of every colour from the meet.
Potts and Hood’s run to the final came to an end against higher-ranked Thai opponents Pithak Tipjan and Poravid Taovato in the last four. The Australian team lost 21-15, 18-21, 15-11.
However, the pair put that defeat behind them and clinched the bronze medal against another Thai pair - Surin Jongklang and Dunwinit Kaewsai, beating them 21-15, 21-14.
No comments:
Post a Comment