Phl beach volley teams battling tough foes

SANYA, China — The Philippines’ beach volleyball pairs face tough group-stage assignments as hostilities in the 6th Asian Beach Games gets underway Thursday at Sanya Bay.

Sunny Villapando and Grydelle Joanice Matibag, seeded ninth in the 28-team women’s field, were drawn in Pool H alongside teams from Mongolia, Macau and Kazakhstan.

Compatriots Khylem Progella and Sofia Pagara, ranked 10th, will compete in Pool G against Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Macau.

Around 1,790 athletes from 45 member countries of the Olympic Council of Asia are competing in the Games, which officially opened Wednesday at the Sanya International Sports Park.

The beach volleyball tournament features eight pools each in the men’s and women’s divisions, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout rounds.

Host China fields strong contenders, including Beach Pro Tour Haikou champions Dong Jie and Jiang Kaiyue in Pool A, while Japan’s Ren Matsumoto and Non Matsumoto headline Pool B. China’s Zhou Mingli and Halaiti Kadeliye, runners-up in Haikou, are drawn in Pool C.

Also competing in the women’s field are teams from Chinese Taipei, Lebanon, Malaysia, Syria, Maldives, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.

The Philippines has no entry in the 35-team men’s tournament.

Technical director Kritsada Panaseri of Thailand said organizers are ready for the competition.

“Everything is good. China has prepared things above the standards,” Panaseri said.

“China, the CVA (Chinese Volleyball Association) was quick to iron out the small issues we had and now we’re all set for the start of the tournament.”

The Asian Beach Games also feature competitions in 3x3 basketball, aquathlon, open water swimming, beach water polo, kabaddi, handball, football, wrestling, dragon boat, jiu-jitsu, sailing, sport climbing and teqball.