HEKINAN, Japan-Khy Progella and Sofiah Pagara rallied from a set down to beat China’s Cao Shuting and Dong Jie, 13-21, 23-21, 15-13, to bag the Philippines’s first Asian Games beach volleyball medal-a bronze-on Friday at the Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court.
‘This is overwhelming for us,’ Pagara said. ‘We worked so very hard for this medal.’
The duo from University of Santo Tomas turned heartbreak into history by rallying from a set down and match point in the second to foil the Chinese pair. They forced a deciding set as the match remained tight until the stretch.
Locked at 10-all, Progella and Pagara surged ahead, 14-12, putting themselves within a point of the bronze.
China saved one match point, but the Filipinas remained composed as Dong sent an over pass long, triggering a celebration from the Philippine side as Progella and Pagara secured their place in Asian Games history.
‘The pressure and the nerves were in the first set, but after that, we overcame our fears,’ Progella said.
The team-supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission-celebrated the country’s best finish in the event since beach volleyball was introduced at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima.