Milan, Italy, September 07, 2003 - China's golden girls Jia Tian and Fei Wang have rewritten the history books for the second time in two weeks with back to back SWATCH-FIVB World Tour titles after claiming the gold medal at the $150,000 EstaThé Italian Open on Sunday.
After becoming the first team from the world's most populated country to win a gold medal on the World Tour by claiming the Bali Open title at the end of August, the two 22-year-olds have claimed gold again after fighting back from one set down to beat Brazilian second seeds Adriana Behar and Shelda 2-1 (17-21, 22-20, 15-11).
"We are ecstatic with this victory," Fei Wang said. "We know the Brazilians are the best in Beach Volleyball so it makes us extremely proud to win this tournament. We are young and we are improving so we can still achieve a lot.
"But to win two in a row is amazing and I have to thank my coach and Jia Tian for this result."
The young Asian duo performed with remarkable consistency all tournament but after the first set in the final it looked like they had finally met their match.
Adriana, 34, and Shelda took the first set with a mix of excellent team work and precision on attack. Adriana in particular was lethal given a little bit of time and space at the net. 30-year-old Shelda looks to be getting better with age as her cat-like instincts were at their best as she returned a number of apparent 'winners' and turned them into points for Brazil.
But Jia Tian, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, and Fei Wang began to find their rhythm in the second set and kept pace with the Brazilians, who have been together as a team since 1995, before finding the crucial combination at the right time to clinch the second set with an out from Adriana.
With the momentum on China's side, Adriana and Shelda couldn't find it in them to fight their way back from 8-3 down as they watched the young Asian pair seal the tiebreak and the match 15-11.
For the Brazilians it is their third second-place finish from eight starts on the 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour in what looked like their best chance to win their first tournament this season with favorites Ana Paula Connelly and Sandra Pires Tavares knocked out in the last 16.
Earlier, USA's Nancy Mason and Dianne DeNecochea completed their best finish on the 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour when they beat the Netherlands duo of Rebekka Kadijk and Marrit Leenstra in straight sets (21-16, 21-13) in the playoff for the bronze medal.
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