Shangluo Cina, IO – Indonesia’s beach volleyball duo Bintang Akbar/Sofyan Rachman made a winning start to the AVC Beach Continental 2026, defeating Hong Kong’s Wong Pui Lam/Chong Kei Loi 21-10, 21-12 in Shangluo, China, on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

The victory marked Bintang/Sofyan’s first win in Group E and boosted their chances of finishing top of the group.

Indonesia beach volleyball coach Slamet Mulyanto hopes the pair can maintain their form in their remaining matches.

Bintang/Sofyan dominated from the opening set, limiting Wong/Chong to just 10 points before taking the opener 21-10. They continued to control the second set, maintaining a comfortable lead to secure a 21-12 win.

Slamet welcomed the strong start, particularly the pair’s healthy point differential.

“Thankfully, Bintang/Sofyan collected a good number of points in their Group E opener with a 21-10, 21-12 win. We hope they can do the same in the next group match,” Slamet said, as quoted by the PP PBVSI public relations team.

Point differential could prove crucial in the group-stage race, with the group winner expected to have a more favorable matchup in the knockout stage.

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“Collecting points is very important. The group winner will get an easier opponent in the knockout stage,” he said.

Bintang/Sofyan were scheduled to play their second Group E match later Wednesday against Kazakhstan’s Yakovlev/Mokhammad at 6:50 p.m. WIB. They will then wrap up the group stage against Japan’s Takahashi/Ikeda on Thursday, September 3.

Group E consists of Indonesia, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and Japan.

The AVC Beach Continental 2026 is also part of Bintang/Sofyan’s campaign to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. They are the only Indonesian pair competing in the Shangluo tournament.

Before the tournament, Slamet said Bintang/Sofyan had been prepared to take on Asia’s top pairs. (rp)