RI's qualifiers spiked in Bali
Moh. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Sanur, Bali
Three Indonesian pairings lost their qualifying matches at the US$200,000 Bali Open beach volleyball tournament at Sanur beach on Wednesday, exiting the tournament on the first day of play.
The event is part of the Swatch-Federation Internationale de Volleyball World Tour and gives local players the opportunity to test their skills against world-class opponents.
However, Gina Andriana and Minarni, Engel Bertha Kaize and Ninik Nuraida, Henny Diliana and Nelly Fangidae found the competition too tough, all losing in two games.
Gina and Minarni were thumped by Thailand's top pairing of Kamoltip Kulna and Jarunee Sannok, losing 21-9, 21-6 in 23 minutes. The Thais were the 2003 Southeast Asia (SEA) Games gold medalists.
Bertha and Ninik went down to Yupa Puklongploy and Usa Tenpaksee, also from Thailand, 21-14, 21-14 in 39 minutes, while Heny and Nelly Fangidae lost to Helene Yahiel and Kevienne Etienne of France 21-10, 21-13 in 24 minutes.
Gina offered no excuses for the loss. "We just lost."
Despite the lopsided margin they enjoyed, Kulna said it was not an easy game against the Indonesians.
"I am happy that we can go to the main draw," she said.
Kulna, 28, and Sannok, 24, finished 17th in a tournament in Montreal, Canada, last year, while their best finish this year was 25th in Japan.
"Now our chance to advance to the next rounds still depends on the draw tonight," Kulna said.
Bertha blamed the defeat on a lack of preparation. "Our opponents are not special ... but we just arrived yesterday evening (Tuesday) after finishing a tournament in Surabaya. So we didn't have time to adjust to the ball. The ball was too light for me to make a perfect hit."
Thailand did not have it all its own way on Wednesday. Kasinee Godtalang and Arawan Tongkamkak, who featured in the recent Indonesia Open, were defeated by Hana Klapalova and Tereza Petrova of the Czech Republic 21-17, 21-13.
Twenty-four teams automatically qualified for the 32-team main draw, which will begin play on Thursday. The other eight teams in the main draw had to make their way through the qualifying round.
The main draw was reduced to 32 after several late withdrawals. Olympic champions Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, and Elaine Youngs and Rachel Wacholder of the U.S. withdrew on Tuesday. Rieke Brink-Abeler and Hella Jurich of Germany also pulled out of the tournament.
The withdrawals have made the Brazilian pairs of Renata Ribeiro and Talita Antunes, and 2004 Olympic silver medalists Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede the one and two seeds, respectively. The Dutch pair Rebekka Kadijk and Mere Moore is the third seed.