JP/11/Volley

JP/11/Volley

Indonesian teams smoothly head to 2nd round matches

Pariama Hutasoit And Rita A. Widiadana The Jakarta Post, Seminyak, Bali

The Indonesia one men's team of Agus Salim and Koko Prasetyo won 2-0 against the Australian two team of Brett Richardson and Alistar Lyne during the last match on the first day of the Asian Beach Volley Ball Competition at Petitenget beach in Seminyak, Kuta, on Friday.

Despite the strong breeze and intense heat of Petitenget beach in the opulent Seminyak business and resort center, some 10 kilometers west of Denpasar, Indonesian senior beach volley ball player Agus Salim led the game by making accurate blocks forcing the Australian team to work hard.

Agus Salim and his junior, Koko Prasetyo, ended the first game with the score at 21-17. The combination of senior and junior players was promising. Agus Salim shared his maturity and experience, while Koko showed his strength and agility. On the other hand, the Australian team also showed their best.

Richardson's perfect jump serves and spikes were often unpredictable.

Koko frequently made some faults and inaccuracies in placing his blocks.

In the second game, the host team won 21-16.

An official from the Indonesian Volley Ball Association (PBVSI) expected Agus/Koko to maintain their consistency over the following two days.

"The secret of the Beach Volley Ball game is physical endurance, defense and strategic tactics. Agus and Koko possess strong teamwork," he said.

Agus and Koko previously won against Hong Kong's Cheung Hoi Ying/Cheng Wai Ho with a scores of 2-1.

The other Indonesian team of Supridi/Andy Ardiansyah won 2-1 against the Korean pairing of Choi Bu Sik/Park Sang Heun.

The Asian Beach Volley Ball Competition, which was opened on Friday morning, involves ten participating countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Qatar, China, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

Rita Subowo, the PBVSI's chairperson, earlier said in a press conference that Indonesian teams would face competition from teams like New Zealand, China and Thailand.

Cahya Azis, coordinator of the Asian Games national training center, said the results of the first day were quite encouraging. "These matches could be our sign to move ahead," Azis said.

In earlier matches, the Indonesian women's of team Ni Putu Timy Yudhani and Siti Nurjanah beat the South Korean pairing of Chang Yoon Hee and Ji Kyung Hee 2-1 (21-19, 18-21, 15-9).

Meanwhile, the other Indonesian team of Riesma Siswardini and Emerita Arisanti also won easily against the Australian pairing of Olivia Orchard and Megan Avery with the final result being 2- 1. Unfortunately, they were beaten by a strong Chinese team.

Azis further said that the Indonesian women's team had to gird themselves to face China, Thailand and Japan on Saturday, while in the men's categories, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and China were strong teams.