Jinjiang, China, June 1, 2018 – Second seeds Trevor Crabb/John Mayer of the United States and third seeds Nils Ehlers/Lorenz Schumann of Germany notched double wins to start their respective main draw campaigns at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Jinjiang 2-star at the Yakou Tourist Area on Friday.
Lucerne 3-star gold medallists Crabb Tr./Meyer started off strong with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-13) win over China’s Liu Jinqiu/Tang Xingyu, then kept their winning momentum against their Germany's Max Betzien/Jonathan Erdmann 2-0 (25-23, 25-23) in Pool B.
Ehlers/Schumann likewise had an easy start in Pool C, with a victory over Singapore’s Fan Shen/Kingsley Tay 2-0 (21-11, 21-14) and the Czech Republic's Vaclav Bercik/Jan Dumek 2-0 (21-17, 21-19).
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An Asian side and three more European teams cruised to the next round by completing their pool play matches with two wins.
Thailand’s Surin Jongklang/Adisorn Khaolumtarn topped Pool A, beating two European counterparts in straight sets. The Thais first beat Germany’s Armin Dollinger/Simon Kulzer 2-0 (21-19, 31-29) then defeated Lithuania’s Robert Juchnevic/Artur Vasiljev 2-0 (21-19, 21-17).
Slovenia's Jan Pokersnik/Nejc Zemljak led Pool D with triumphs against Israel’s Shani Cohen/Netanel Ohana 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) and Japan’s Yusuke Ishijima/Takumi Takahashi 2-0 (21-12, 21-18), while Switzerland’s Gabriel Kissling/Michiel Zandbergen ruled Pool E with victories over Hong Kong’s Kelvin Lau/Pui Lam Wong 2-0 (21-16, 22-20) and China’s Gao Peng/Li Yang 2-1 (27-29, 21-19, 18-16).
Austria’s Felix Friedl/Maximillian Trummer won Pool F with two tough three-set wins against Thailand’s Nuttanon’s Inkiew/Sedtawat Padsawud 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 15-13) and Canada’s Aaron Nusbaum/Michael Plantinga 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 16-14).
The Jinjiang 2-star pool play continues on Saturday, June 2.