Date : Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Time : 7:48 PM
Title :

Thailand took double Gold in both the Boys and Girls' categories of the Asian Youth Games Beach Volleyball event; with Kazakhstan bringing home two dignified Silvers on 5 July 2009.

In the two most spectacular matches of the five days of the tournament, Thailand's teams crushed Kazakhstan with unpredictable plays on the court.

In the Girls' finals, Thailand trumped Kazakhstan with an arsenal of drop-shots, down-the-line shots as well as spikes which hammered the ball into the sand.

With a comfortable lead of 7 points, Thailand closed off the first set at 21-14, leaving Kazakhstan demoralised.

The second set saw a desperate Kazakhstan team playing catch-up. Nerves rattled, their serves and spikes often found the net instead of their opponent's court.

This made it easier for the Thailand team to take the set, closing set and match at 21-12.

Thailand's Girls' team captain, Yansuwan Aunchalee, shared: "Our coach told us to relax and enjoy the match. We did, and we are proud to be able to represent Thailand in the Asian Youth Games. We did not let Thailand down."

The Boys' finals match was almost similar to the Girls', with Thailand closing off the game by winning two consecutive sets.

The first set started off with both sides going strong. Kazakhstan's Slavislav Pustynikk's powerful spikes, along with Sergey Bogatu's amazing blocks managed to keep their scores closely tied with Thailand's all the way. Excitement built till the end of the first set, with Thailand winning narrowly by two points, 21-19.

In the second set, Thailand's Thosapol Puangprasert and Warung Prasanok stepped up their attacks, with familiar drop-shots and shots to the corners of their opponent's court. Like their female counterparts, the boys from Thailand chose to rely on accuracy and skill instead of raw power.

Puangprasert and Prasanok's attacks forced Kazakhstan to defend from an onslaught of steep-angled spikes and hard-to-reach balls that were tapped over the net.

It did not take long for Thailand to close off the second set at 21-10, winning the Gold for the Boys' event.

"The match against Kazakhstan was not difficult, though they are tall", said Thailand's Coach Prayoon Rungruang jubilantly. "They did not play smart enough. Indonesia was tougher," he added.

"It was a physical and mental toll for us," said both teams of Kazakhstan. "Thailand played very well."

Indonesia and People's Republic of China emerged third in the Boys' and Girls' events respectively.