Both the final and 3rd/4th play play-off match went to 3 sets at the Pattaya Thailand Challenger, FIVB Beach Volleyball tournament which concluded on Sunday, November 9.
The 5-day tournament, held at a purpose built arena just off Pattaya Beach Road, saw 24 teams from around the world enter the main draw, all vying for a share of the US$50,000 in prize money.
Elwin and Matauatu of Vanuatu (centre) celebrate on the podium after winning the Pattaya Thailand Challenger, FIVB Beach Volleyball tournament on Sunday, November 9.
The final match on Sunday saw the Vanuatu pair of Elwin and Matauatu take on Japan’s Take and Mizoe. In the opening set the agility and powerful attacking play of the team from Vanuatu saw them romp to an easy 21-11 win. The Japanese duo upped their game in the second set, forcing the Vanuatu team into making errors at the net and as a result they leveled the match at 1-1 with a comfortable 21-14 score. In the deciding set the Vanuatu team came back strongly and took the set 15 – 9 to win the tournament and get 320 FIVB world ranking points as well as US$8,000 in prize money.
Japanese duo Take and Mizoe attempt a slam shot against Vanuatu in the final of the 5-day championship.
In the 3rd/4th place play-off match between the Thai team of Radarong and Udomchavee and Azerbaijan’s Vivian and Zinaida, a vociferous crowd got behind the local Thai team from the start. The match proved to be the longest in the tournament, lasting one hour and four minutes, which Radarong and Udomchavee finally won 24-26, 25-23, 15-7 to clinch their best finish of the season.
Thailand pairing Radarong and Udomchavee took third place after defeating Azerbaijan in a close play-off match.
In the opening set the Azerbaijan team stormed into a 5-point lead before a foot injury to Zinaida curtailed their progress. Despite Zinaida’s impaired mobility the Azerbaijan team did enough to shade the first set 26-24. The second set was equally evenly matched before the Thai team evened the tie, winning the set 25-23. The third set was more one-sided as a visibly tired Azerbaijan team went down 15–9, giving the Thai team 3rd place on the podium.
Radarong and Udomchavee picked up 256 FIVB world ranking points to lift them up into the top 35 in the world rankings.
