2017 FIVB World Tour – Tangshan Open
- June 17-18, 2017
- Jiangning, Nanjing, China
- Schedule/Results
Americans Kelly Larsen and Betsi Flint grabbed their first FIVB World Tour medal, taking Gold at the Tangshan Two-Star Open on Sunday.
The American duo did not drop a set in five matches at the event. The pair earned their semifinal spot after notching a 21-7, 21-11 win over China’s Jing Wang/Jiaxi Wang; downing Japan’s Miki Ishii/Negynu Murakami 22-20, 21-15 and topping Thailand’s Varapatsorn Radarong/Tanarattha Udomchavee 21-15, 21-18 in the quarters.
Once in medal contention, Larsen/Flint took out Czech duo Martina Bonnerova and Sarka Naladalova 23-21, 21-15 to move on to the final. There, the duo crushed the hopes of Chinese fans, taking out homegrown product Shuhui Wen and Xinyi Xia 21-19, 21-12.
“We’re so excited, this was a great tournament with some really good teams and thought Bets and I came out here and played really well against each and every team,” Larsen said. “We worked hard, came from behind. We’re happy to be here, it’s a cool set-up, cool environment and we’re so glad that we won gold,” said Larsen.
Wen/Xia made the final by topping Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite and Monika Poviliatyte, 21-17, 21-18.
“Even though we lost the match today, I still think we have done great here,” Xia said. We kept going all the way even though we felt quite tired and we have also learnt a lot from our opponents. This is our first World Tour event together and we got the silver medal, so we’re really happy for this memorable experience.”
Dumbauskaite/Poviliatyte went on to earn bronze, edging Bonnerova/Naladalova 25-23, 17-21, 15-7 in the third place match.
Bonnerova/Nakladalova finished second at the Langkawi One-Star, while the other three teams were making their 2017 FIVB Tour semifinal debut.
Saturday
Wen/Xia made their way to the semis with sweeps of Thailand’s Rumpaipruet Numwong/Khanittha Hongpak (21-19, 21-12) and Canadians Megan Nagy/Marie-Christine Lapoint (21-9, 21-14) and a quarterfinal win over countrywomen and heavily favored Fan Wang/ Yuan Yue (13-21, 21-17, 15-11).
Dumbauskaite/Poviliatyte downed Japan’s Sayaka Mizoe/Suzuka Hashimoto 18-21, 21-12, 15-13 in the Round of 16 and topped Vanuatu’s Loti Joe/Linline Matauatu 21-13, 21-13 in the quarters. The Tangshan Open marks the Lithuanian side’s first FIVB World Tour of the season.
Bonnerova/Nakladalova topped Russians Yulia Abalakina/Ksenia Dabizha 21-19, 21-18 in the round of 24 and China’s Xinxin Wang/Chen Xue 21-19, 21-19 in the round of 16. The duo then defeated Americans Emily Stockman/Kimberly Dicello in the quarterfinals, 21-19, 21-15.
Flint – Larsen – USA Gold – Tangshan Open
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