Picture story by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.
Puangprasert Thosapol thunders a spike past Indonesia’s Ade Chandra Rachman. (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Siloso Beach, Sentosa, Saturday, July 4, 2009 - Thailand and Kazakhstan qualified for the finals after beating Indonesia and Yemen respectively in their semi-final matches of the Asian Youth Games Beach Volleyball tournament, mirroring the progress of their female compatriots.
Both countries will now seek to achieve a unique double in the inaugural AYG Beach Volleyball final on Sunday.
It was a clash of two South-East Asian giants as Thailand took on Indonesia on centre court for a place in the final.
Thailand romped home with the first set 21-15, with Puangprasert Thosapol and Prasanok Warut thundering their spikes past their Indonesian counterparts of Gede Eka Agustiawan and Ade Chandra Rachmawan.
The Indonesian pair fought back in the second set to win 21-17, forcing the match into a mouth-watering rubber set. However, the Thais proved themselves worthy of a championship final as they finished off Thailand 15-12 in the deciding set.
On the other court, Kazakhstan thrashed Yemen 21-13 in the first set only to have the Yemenis make a comeback to win 25-23 in the second set.
The Kazakhstan team of Pustynnikov Vladislav and Bogatu Sergey managed to hold off their Yemeni counterparts Omair Ashraf Saeed Saeed and Sheikh Mohammed Salem Haidarah 15-12 to storm into the final alongside their female counterparts.
Thailand will play Kazakhstan in the final on Sunday at 3pm whereas Yemen will face off with Indonesia in the bronze medal match at 11am.
Prasanok Warut dives in a bid to receive an Indonesian attack. Indonesia gave Thailand a run for their money as they managed to place several of their shots out of Thailand’s reach. (Photo 2 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Gede Eka Agustiawan receives a ball while Ade Chandra Rachmawan moves into position. (Photo 3 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
The Thais celebrate after winning a point. (Photo 4 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Prasanok Warut spikes towards the Indonesian block. (Photo 5 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Gede Eka Agustiawan receives a powerful shot. The Thais dominated much of the game with their clever play and powerful attacks. (Photo 6 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Good one… (Photo 7 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
The Indonesians were not short of any spectacular moves and this match against Thailand was definitely one of championship final material. (Photo 8 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Omair Ashraf Saeed Saeed spikes while Pustynnikov Vladislav retreats to receive. (Photo 9 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Pustynnikov Vladislav receives a ball while team mate Bogatu Sergey moves into position. (Photo 10 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Pustinnikov gets a ball smashed right into his face by his Yemeni opponents in a tight rally. (Photo 11 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Sheikh Mohammed Salem Haidarah receives a shot. Though they were outclassed in the first set, they managed to steal the second set back from Kazakhstan, only to lose the third. (Photo 12 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
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