Potts & Pearse lead gold, silver, bronze haul at Asian Championships

AVC

10/11/2024

Potts & Pearse lead gold, silver, bronze haul at Asian Championships

D’Artagnan Potts and Jack Pearse have leapt from rising stars to bone fide World Tour threats following their upset victory at the Asian Beach Volleyball Championships.

Entering the tournament as third seeds behind their four Paris Olympic teammates, the emerging pair – playing just their third tournament together, defeated top seeds Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher in the gold medal match to take the title.

The result saw a one-two finish for the men’s teams for the second year running at the tournament, after Zach Schubert and Tom Hodges beat Chris McHugh and Paul Burnett in the 2023 final.

Ensuring Australia took home a medal of each colour, Stefie Fejes and Jana Milutinovic won the bronze medal match, a huge improvement from last year when they were eliminated in the pool stage. Despite the pair winning eight tournaments together already, this will be their biggest ever rankings points haul.

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Potts and Pearse were one set away from behind bundled out of the tournament on Saturday when they were a set down against Kazakhstan, but stormed back to earn a place in the semis.

There they faced the Chinese pair which knocked out Hodges and Schubert and were highly-fancied to take the Asian title.

However the big swinging Aussies scored a boilover, outlasting their opponents 23-21, 24-22 in a gripping encounter which earned them a place in the decider.

With the two Australian combinations knowing each others’ games well, the final was going to be a case of outplaying and outthinking the team on the other side of the net.

After establishing an 8-4 lead early, Pearse and Potts were able to always hold at least a two-point margin right up until their first set point which the more experienced duo were able to snuff out.

However the 21 and 22 year old duo were not to be denied on the second occasion, taking the opener 21-19.

Nicolaidis and Carracher broke to a two-point margin early in the second but that was quickly erased as the Aussie arm wrestle continued. Neither side let the other earn an advantage until a Carracher ace delivered a 16-14 lead.

As the two sides traded the next the next four points, the top seeds were just three points away from levelling the match.

From there the match turned on it’s head, Pearse and Potts winning four straight points to create two opportunities to claim the title. And while the first opportunity went long on an all-out ace attempt, a perfectly constructed final point saw Potts hammer home the winner to claim the Championship.

“It is an unbelievable achievement to be crowned Asian champions,” said Pearse. “I’m most pleased with our team connection and how we were picking up on each other when we were lacking and celebrating the amazing things we were doing.

“⁠⁠Our biggest growth area as a team would’ve been our consistency and our competitiveness on court. A lot of previous tournaments we lacked our skills at times whereas I felt this tournament it was more other teams playing better and us just going about our own business.”

Potts said the victory was undoubtedly the highlight of his career.

“There was no feeling like it,” he said. “Getting that last point and winning the match just sent so much adrenaline through my body. Best feeling ever.

“We just stayed together every game and kept fighting even when things weren’t working in our favour. Kept playing high and bit above the net and swinging hard.”

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Earlier in the day, Milutinovic and Fejes claimed their first Asian Championship medal at senior level after winning the bronze medal match.

The pair were up against a Japanese side they defeated in the pool match at last year’s tournament and earlier this year at an Asian Beach Tour event.

Claiming the first set by six points, the second seeds were on track for the podium but faced a sterner test in the second.

The two teams never let each other out of their sights and the scores were locked 16-all going into the closing stages of the set. However three quickfire points from the Aussies opened up an advantage that couldn’t be closed with Fejes and Milutinovic scoring claiming the match 21-15, 21-19 in just under 40 minutes.

There is little rest for the Australian contingent who fly to China on Monday to continue a month-long swing through Asia with three Beach Pro Tour Challenge events starting on Wednesday in Haikou and continuing to India and back to Philippines.