Photo: Courtesy of organizers
Shanghai team member Yan Yanyang and Jiangsu team member Li Jie paired up to win the national men's beach volleyball final on Sunday, as the
Xinjiang team of Wen Shuhui and Wang Jingzhe claimed the women's championship.
Yan and Li, who overcame rivals Nueraili and Yang Cong of Team Bayi 15-21, 21-19, 15-8, said they were nervous in the opening set and they had to reassess their pace.
"We were too desperate to win the opening set," Yan said after the final. "But after losing the first set, we realized that we have nothing to lose, and that's when we found our pace."
Earlier in the day in the women's final, Wang and Wen defeated Chen Chunxia of Shanxi and Zhu Lingdi of Jiangsu 21-13, 23-21.
"We expected a tough final but I didn't think it would be so tense," Wang told reporters after the game. "Our offense was not diverse in the opening set, and our opponents know us well. But thanks to my teammate's relentlessness, we thrived."