The four highest-seeded teams in the 2009 International Women’s Beach Volleyball competition reached the third round on Friday at Ocean Park in Vung Tau City.

Top seeds Tenpaksee Usa and Sannok Jarunee of Thailand, who received a first-round bye, had to fight hard in their victory over Indonesians Devota Saveriana Rahawarin and Ayu Chahy Aningsiam.

The Indonesian team had previously defeated Vongprachanh Xayamonkhon and Chanhaloun Vongsaya of Laos in the first round.

The Thai duo led 25-14 in the first set but the Indonesians fought back in the second, taking the match into a deciding set.

Tenpaksee Usa and Sannok Jarunee won 15-12, with the match ending 2-1 (21-14, 18-21, 15-13).

The two Thais will go head-to-head with the fourth-seeded Filipino duo Johanna Carpio and Michelle Carolino, who have not dropped a set in the last two matches.

Like their compatriots, second seeds Kulna Kamoltip and Phokongploy Yupa of Thailand, who also had a first-round bye, experienced a tough three-set match against Chinese pair Li Yang and Hu Anna, who had beaten Nguyen Thi Mai and Truong Thi Yen of Viet Nam.

Kulna Kamoltip and Phokongploy Yupa will go head-to-head with another Chinese pair, third seeds Lin Xianling and Lin Donghe.

The latter hammered the Kazakhstan team of Bogatu Lyubov and Pilipenko Oxana in the first round and overpowered the young duo of Do Thi Hau and Ngo Vo Thanh Loan of Viet Nam.

In matches determining the eighth and ninth positions, Nguyen Thi Mai and Truong Thi Yen, had a 21-15, 21-15 victory over Malaysian pair Luk Tek Hua and Iswari Manokharan in the first round.

They will face Vongprachanh Xayamonkhon and Chanhaloun Vongsaya of Laos tomorrow, while Do Thi Hau and Ngo Vo Thanh Loan, who lost 21-14, 21-20 to Lin Xianling and Lin Donghe, next meet Filipinos Nerissa Bautista and Jusabelle Brillo.

“The tournament has many strong pairs, especially from Thailand and China, so we will play to improve and try to rank eight in the ranking,” said Nguyen Thi Mai, who played in the last tournament in Quang Ninh Province’s Tuan Chau Resort.

The first-ever International Women’s Beach Volleyball tournament opened yesterday at Ocean Park of Vung Tau City and will wrap up on Sunday.

The tournament has attracted the participation of 28 athletes from eight Asian countries, including those with strong volleyball skills, like China and Thailand.

China, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Thailand and the host Viet Nam have two teams each.

The tournament will offer total cash prizes of US$12,000, with the winner taking $2,500.

VietNamNet/VNS