XIAMEN, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese beach volleyball duo Wang Fan and Xia Xinyi beat the Brazilian pair of Taiana Lima and Carol Horta here on Friday at the 2018 FIVB World Tour Xiamen Open.
The victory secured a round of 16 berth where they will meet the Brazilian team of Agatha and Duda on Saturday morning.
Wang and Xia led 5-2 due to efficient blocks in the beginning of the first set against Lima and Carol Horta. The Chinese pair had to call a timeout when the score went to 14-17. They ended up losing the first set 18-21.
The match was reversed in the second set. Wang and Xia won the second set 21-18.
In the final set, Wang and Xia took the lead after the score was locked at 9-9 and finally sealed the victory by winning the final set 15-13.
Wang told Xinhua that she was so excited to win the tough game.
"We encountered them once when we were training in Brazil months ago," said Wang, "we were beaten down so badly then and now we did something different and great."
Wang went on to say that they weren't strong in the first set, but the crowd played a big part in inspiring their comeback.
Paulo Roberto Moreira da Costa, the Brazilian coach of the Chinese beach volleyball team, told Xinhua he studied the videos of Taiana Lima and Carol Horta and offered the Chinese girls some advice and guidance on tactics. "We'll do the same preparations tonight because Wang and Xia will meet another strong Brazilian team," said Moreira da Costa, "Agatha and Duda are the same level as Taiana Lima and Carol Horta, so tomorrow's match will be the same difficulty as today's."
Agatha and Duda claimed the title at the 2017 FIVB Rio tournament and won the silver medal in the 2017 World Tour Finals in Hamburg, Germany.
