Haikou, China, December 11, 2011 â€" Parviz Farrokhi/Aghamohammad Salagh of Iran and Zhang Xi/ Xue Chen of China stunned their rivals on Sunday to capture the menâ€TMs and womenâ€TMs crowns, respectively, at the 2011 AVC Beach Volleyball Championship.

Sixth-seeded Farrokhi/Salagh came from behind to upset Asian Gamesâ€TM gold-medal winners and top seeds Xu Linyin/Wu Penggen of China 2-1 (15-21, 22-20, 15-13) in the menâ€TMs 49-minute final that concluded the four-day championship.

It was the first time the Iranian team had defeated the Chinese duo. Last week at the Nanning Open, the Chinese duo won the tournament and eliminated the Iranian pair in the quarterfinals in straight sets.

“I am so happy that our team beat Xu/Wu from China,” said Hamid Movahedi, Iranâ€TMs team manager. “The Chinese were Asian Games champions and also world champions on the FIVB World Tour series. Farrokhi is 43 years old and he proved this week that Beach Volleyball is a sport for all ages and it is never too old to win. With good preparation for the AVC Continental Cup Final, I hope we will have our first Beach Volleyball team qualify for the London Olympic Games, and for sure that will be a big success for the sport of volleyball in Iran.”

In the bronze-medal match, second seeds Aleandr Dyachenko/ Alexey Sidorenko of Kazakhstan dominated Aussies Christopher McHugn/ Joshua Slack in 37 minutes, 21-19, 21-14. The silver-medal winners from the 2nd Asian Beach Games last December in Oman gave the Australians no chance and overwhelmed their defence. It was the teamâ€TMs second bronze medal in two weeks after they captured the same at last weekâ€TMs Nanning Open.

In the womenâ€TMs gold-medal match, Beijing Olympic bronze-medal winners and top seeds Zhang Xi/Xue Chen demonstrated their superiority over compatriots Zhang Changning/ Ma Yuanyuan and trounced them in straight sets 21-12, 21-13, winning a second medal for the host country.

The victory brought Zhang Xi/Xue 500 points towards their London Olympic qualification ranking. They are behind Larissa/Juliana (Brazil) and Walsh/May-Treanor (USA) in the qualification process for London.

Zhang Xi/ Xue Chen downed Japanâ€TMs Satoko Urata/Takemi Nishibori 21-15, 21-6 in the semifinals to claim the final berth, while Zhang Changning/Ma Yuan Yuan battled their way to the final after beating Sydney Olympic champion Natalie Cook and her partner Tamsin Hinchley from Australia 21-18, 21-13.

Cook/Hinchley overwhelmed Urata/Nishibori in the bronze-medal match, crushing them in 30 minutes, 21-10, 21-16.

A total of 27 menâ€TMs teams and 24 womenâ€TMs teams from 14 AVC members â€" an unprecedented number in terms of participation â€" came to Haikou to take part in the four-day tournament.

The AVC Beach Volleyball Championship visited the purpose-built venue on Haikouâ€TMs Holiday Beach for the third consecutive year. The extremely popular event on exotic Hainan Island will stay at the same venue for another two years. Many of the top and rising stars of the AVC Beach Volleyball Community were in Haikou for the final â€" and most important â€" event of the year.

1. Parviz Farrokhi/Aghamonhammad Salagh (IRI)

2. Xu Linyin/Wu Penggen (CHN)

3. Alexandr Dyachenko/Alexey Sidorenko (KAZ)

4. Christopher McHugh/Joshua Slack (AUS)

5. Zhou Shun/Li Jian (CHN), Shiratori Katsuhiro/Asahi Kentaro (JPN), Alexey Kuleshov/Dimtry Yakovlev (KAZ), Kirk Pitman/Jason Lochhead (NZL)

9. Sam Boehm/Isaac Kapa (AUS), Chen Cheng/Lin Wuqin (CHN), Ma Jingrong/Zhang Changzhong (CHN), Saber Hoshman/Sharam Ghasemkhah (IRI), Kiew Chiong Ung/Nordin Rafi (MAS), Sam Oâ€TMDea/Ben Oâ€TMDea (NZL), Sittichai Sabgkhachot/Sukto Prathip (THA), Nguyen Trong Quoc/Pham Anh Tuan (VIE)

17. Chong Kei Loi/Cheung Fu Kin (HKG), Doban Deh Rezaei/Salehi (IRI), Shimpei Aoki/Keisuke Imai (JPN), Khoo Chong Long/Salim Mohamad Fitri (MAS), Pubudu Kimara Ekanayake/W. Peiris (SRI), Wasantha DeVage/Mahesh Perera (SRI), Hsu C. W/Tseng C. C (TPE), Huyuh Quoc Tinh/Lam Kim Trong (VIE)

25. Wong Pui Lam/Kwok Wing Ho (HKG), Leong Baowan Zhuo Hong Chuan (SIN), Lee Y. T/ Juan S. H (TPE)

1. Zhang Xi/Xue Chen (CHN)

2. Zhang Changning/Ma Yuanyuan (CHN)

3. Natalie Cook/Tasmin Hinchley (AUS)

4. Satoko Urata/Takemi Nishibori (JPN)

5. Becchara Palmer/Louise Bawden (AUS), Wang Fan/Ding Jingjing (CHN), Ying Huang/Yue Yuan (CHN), Jarunee Sannok/UsaTenpaksee (THA)

9. Ng Tin Lai/Wong Yuen Mei (HKG), Shinako Tanaka/Sayaka Mizoe (JPN), Tatyana Mashkova/Irina Tsimbalova (KAZ), Marina Pilipenko/Bakhtygul Samalikova (KAZ), Beh Shun Thing/Luk Tech Hua (MAS), Varapasorn Radarong/Udmchavee Tanarattha (THA), Chang H.M/Kou N. H (TPE), Phan Thi Cam Hong/Nhuyen Thi Tiep (VIE)

17. Tse Wing Hung/Koo Yung Yung (HKG), Wai Man Yip/Chan Mei Kit (HKG), Sai Feng Hui/Zi Hui Huang (SIN), TanShiang Theng/Choy Cui Fang Cailin (SIN), Ceethika Lalani Kottunnage/Thakshila Appuhanilage (SRI), Sagari Bogahalanda/Nirosha Gunasimghe (SRI), Liu Pi Hsin/Wu Chia Wei (TPE), Elwin Miller/Joshua Joyce (VAN)

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