2017 FIVB World Tour – Nantong
- June 23-25
- Two-Star Event
- Women’s Only Event
- Event Page
- Schedule
- Teams
China’s Shuhui Wen/Xinyi Xia earned their second straight podium finish on the FIVB World Tour, turning last week’s Tangshan Open silver into a gold at the Nantong Open on Sunday.
“I’m so happy, I can’t even describe it.,” Wen said. “The first time I have reached such a high level and to hear the Chinese national anthem, I’m so proud.”
Wen/Xia defeated countrywomen Xinxin Wang/Chen Xue 21-18, 21-14 in the final.
“I think both teams played well today,” Xia said. “We’ve been playing in a lot of matches recently using a lot of strength, so I think we persevered really well today.”
The pairs have an interesting history as Xia previously played with Xue from 2013 through the end of 2016. Xue, a two-time Olympian, recently paired up with Wang, as the latter made her FIVB semifinal debut this weekend.
“This was a very valuable tournament for us,” Xue said. “We still have a lot of difficulties to overcome and we each have our own technical aspects that we need to work on. Every match is a great learning experience for us and to reach the last day of the tournament is contrary to our expectations. But it proves that all our hard work has not been wasted.”
Wang/Xue advanced to the final after a grueling 20-22, 21-14, 15-11 win over Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite/Monika Povilaityte in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Wen/Xia cruised through a 22-20, 21-14 win over Russia’s Yulia Abalakina/Ksenia Dabizha.
Dumbauskaite/Povilaityte grabbed their second straight bronze medal, following one at the Tangshan Open, with a hotly contested 26-24, 21-19 victory.
“China is really lucky for us, we hope you organize some more tournaments here,” Dumbauskaite said. “After the semifinal, we were really disappointed, but now it’s amazing. Two World Tours and two medals for us.”
Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite/Monika Povilaityte – Nantong Open bronze medalists
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