Xue and Zhang silenced defending champions Usa Tenpaksee and Jarunee Sannok of Thailand 21-12, 21-12 while Yupa and Kulna beat China’s Huang Ying and Yue Yuan 14-21, 21-17, 15-12 on Wednesday to qualify for the final. Tenpaksee and Sannok and Huang and Yue will now contest for bronze. The Chinese duo, who received top honours at the Haikou Asian Beach Volleyball Championship and at the Guangzhou Asian Games last month, are looking to cap of the year with their first Asian Beach Games gold. "We have learned a lot and acquired more experience in the past six months through training, and in tournaments," Xue said. "Of course, we want to win the gold medal." The top-seeded women’s team at these Games had been vocal about an all-China finale but Yupa Phokongpoly and Kamoltip Kulna of Thailand had other plans. Chinese top seeds Xue Chen and Zhang Xi have revealed the secret weapon they hope will see off the Thai pair when they battle for women’s gold on Thursday. "I think that, firstly, energy is the most important factor when preparing, so we have been trying to keep to the same routine." Earlier in the quarterfinals, defending champions Juranee Sannok and Usa Tenpaksee beat Indonesia’s Fitri Wijayanti/Riris Irawati 21-11, 21-15 to set up a clash with top seeds Xue and Zhang, bronze winners at the Beijing 2008 Olympics as well as Asian Games champions in Guangzhou, China, who defeated Kou Nai-Han and Chang Hui-Min of Chinese Taipei 21-10, 21-13. Zhang was expecting a testing semi-final. "Thailand is very strong and they play very good defence," she said. "What we need is to play even stronger. We have played 20 tournaments this year and this one will not be easy." China’s No.2 seeds Huang Ying and Yue Yuan fought back from a set behind to eliminate Tatyana Maskova and Irina Tsimbalova of Kazakhstan 19-21, 21-19, 15-9. Phokongpoly Yupa and Kamoltip Kulna of Thailand saw off Ayu Siam and Yokbeth Kapasiang of Indonesia 14-21, 21-16, 15-12 in a thrilling quarter-final. Yupa, who played with a hurt shoulder, required medical attention as the Thai pair trailed 8-11 in the final set before clinching victory. "We had a period of three-four years where we’d keep playing them,” she said. “Then they had time to focus on training. They’ve come back stronger with more techniques, making them difficult to play." |
