Daegu, Korea, July 16, 2017 – Top seeds Miki Ishii and Megumi Murakami of Japan staged a remarkable comeback to topple second-seeded Thai pair Varapatsorn Radarong and Tanarattha Udomchavee 2-1 (21-14, 15-21, 17-15) in the final of the 1-star FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Daegu Tournament on Sunday.
The Japanese dominated the first set – the first dropped by the Thais in the tournament – but couldn’t hold off the counterattack in the second. They then fell five points behind early in the tiebreak set but recovered to level at 10-10. After that, it was neck and neck before the Japanese duo clinched it on their third match point.
The bronze medal was won by the 10th-seeded Czech pair of Katerina Valkova and Diana Zolnercikova who edged Germany’s Lisa Arnholdt and Leonie Welsch 2-0 (21-14, 24-22).
The two semi-final winners had contrasting routes into the final. Ishii/ Murakami dropped the first set against Valkova and Zolnercikova but fought back to win their semi-final 2-1 (15-21, 21-14, 15-10). Radarong and Udomchavee had a much easier time, breezing past Arnholdt and Welsch 2-0 (21-8, 21-10).