Photo by Fu Ching Tak

Hong Kong, November 11, 2007 - Jia Tian and Jie Wang ended the 2007 FIVB Beach Volleyball campaign like the Chinese pair started their international season last May in Shanghai with a gold medal after the world’s No. 2-ranked team captured the US$30,000 Crocodile Hong Kong Beach Festival 2007 here Sunday at Victoria Park.

The top-seeded Tian and Wang scored a 21-18 and 21-16 win in 39 minutes over second-seeded Chinese rivals Chen Xue and Xi Zhang in the Crocodile Hong Kong Beach Festival 2007 gold medal match to share the $5,000 first-place prize while netting their fourth international Beach Volleyball title.

The victory was Tian and Wang’s 13th FIVB win in 17 matches against their younger Chinese rivals. The previous 16 matches between the two teams were on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour where Xue and Zhang had won two of the previous three gold medal contests with Tian and Wang during the 2006 season.

While Tian and Wang were undefeated in the competition with five wins, including a 21-18 and 21-12 semi-final victory earlier Sunday over 10th-seeded Jarunee Sannok and Usa Tenpaksee of Thailand in 35 minutes, Xue and Zhang had to win three elimination matches to reach the Crocodile Hong Kong Beach Festival 2007 “final four” where the pair split $4,000 for their silver medal finish.

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Information from FIVB