Womens Beach Volleyball-China claim golden double at Asian Championship

China's Xue Chen (right) and Zhang Xi after claiming the women's title at the 2010 Asian Beach Volleyball Championship on Sunday

Haikou, China, October 25, 2010 – Hosts China dominated the 2010 Asian Beach Volleyball Championship after Zhang Xi and Xue Chen and Wu Penggen and Xu Linyin netted the women's and men's titles respectively in Haikou on Sunday.

Olympic bronze medallists Zhang Xi and Xue Chen won the women's event after beating Kazakhstan's Tatyana Mashkova and Irina Tsimbalova in straight sets (21-13, 21-7) in the final. Zhang and Xue illustrated their power from the off and took the first set with ease, 21-13, before upping the intensity in the second, cruising to a 21-7 victory in 31 minutes.

"We put in a lot of preparation before the match," Xue said, noting this was first time they had come up against Kazakh players. "We were in control from when the match started and we did very well in attack and defence today." Zhang said she and Xue would leave for Sanya after the event to prepare for the penultimate SWATCH FIVB World Tour which begins on Monday.

Japan's Shinako Tanaka and Sayaka Mizoe downed Phokongploy Yupa and Kulna Kamoltip of Thailand 2-1 (21-19, 14-21, 19-17) to win bronze.

China's Zhang and Xue had reached the final by defeating the fourth-seeded Yupa and Kamoltip 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) in a 38-minute semifinal. Sixth seeds Tatyana and Irina had downed Tanaka and Mizoe 2-0 (21-19, 22-20) also in 38 minutes to set up the showdown.

In the men's event, China's leading pair Wu Penggen and Xu Linyin, 2010 SWATCH FIVB World Tour Moscow Grand Slam Marseille Open champions, beat Andy Ardiansyah and Koko Prasetyo Darkuncoro from Indonesia to retain their crown.

The top-seeded Chinese duo prevailed in two sets (21-18, 21-16). They had faced a tougher match in the semifinal where they overcame a 19-21 first-set deficit to defeat fourth-seeded compatriots Gao Peng and Li Jian 21-18 and 15-9 in the final two sets of a 53-minute semi-final. Third seeds Andy and Koko outlasted second seeds Alexey Sidorenko and Alexandre Dyachenko of Kazakhstan 2-1 (21-18, 15-21, 15-13) in their semifinal contest.

Gao Peng and Li Jian edged Alexey and Alexandr of Kazakhstan in a tough third-place playoff battle, coming from behind to win 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-8).

A total of 49 professional teams from 17 countries and regions took part in the four-day Asian championships. The countries involved were Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Sri Lanka, Oman, Chinese Taipei, Yemen, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Vanuatu and Iran.