Rio Olympians Wang Fan/Yue Yuan of Zhejiang/Shandong upset Xue Chen/Ma Yuanyuan of Fujian/Shandong 2-0 to win the women's beach volleyball gold at the 13th Chinese National Games on Wednesday.
Wang/Yue, who had lost most of their warm-up matches against Xue/Ma, surprisingly claimed the 21-19 and 21-17 victory in the final among four Chinese internationals.
"Thanks to our great opponents Xue and Ma. Without their pressing, we might not be able to play to our best," said Yue.
Wang/Yue fell behind 15-10 in the first set, but they roared back with a 5-0 run to overtake the lead at 19-18. Ma made it 19-all with a smart dink, only to find Wang and Yue run off two points in a row to seal the first set at 21-19.
"We did not panic when we were behind, because it's normal in our matchups," Yue said. "We were focusing on every point and every play. All of a sudden, it was tied again and then we went up."
In the second set, Wang/Yue jumped to a 12-7 lead and held on for the victory at 21-17.
Xue and Ma, who were teaming up only one month ago, could be satisfied with the silver.
"We are a 'honeymoon combination'. It's a pity that we lost the final match, but we had a great time playing together," said Ma.
