Teams supported by the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Programme swept both the men’s and women’s podiums at the 2026 AVC Asia Beach Volleyball Championships held in Shangluo, China from 2 to 6 September.
Australia’s Stefanie Fejes & Taliqua Clancy were crowned women’s champions while China’s Xu Yan & Xia Xinyi and Japan’s Asami Shiba & Reika Murakami claimed the silver and bronze medals respectively.
Australia’s Mark Nicolaidis & Izac Carracher won the men’s gold medal while their compatriots Thomas Hodges & Ben Hood claimed the silver medal. China’s Jiaxin Wu & Chaowei Zhou settled for bronze.
By winning the tournament, Australia has secured two spots at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. The winners of the 2026 continental championships will earn their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) a quota spot for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
Empowerment-backed Australian duos Stefanie Fejes & Taliqua Clancy and Mark Nicolaidis & Izac Carracher won the men’s and women’s titles at the 2026 AVC Asia Beach Volleyball Championship held in Shangluo, China. (Photo credits: AVC)
FIVB has invested a total of USD 273,000 in the Coach Support projects for Australia’s women’s national team with Brad Tutton currently in charge. Meanwhile, Brazilian expert Adriana Bento Buczmiejuk leads China’s women’s team as part of Targeted Support projects totaling USD 46,800.
Australia’s Stefanie Fejes & Taliqua Clancy defeated the home team of Xu Yan & Xia Xinyi in straight sets (23-21, 21-16) in the women’s final played on Sunday. It’s the sixth Asian title for Clancy who also won gold medals in the 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions while playing with different partners.
Champions Fejes & Clancy only dropped only one set enroute their gold medal feat in Shangluo. They reached the final on a 6-0 win-loss record that included a 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) win over Japan’s Shiba & Reika in the semifinals. The only set they dropped was in the 2-1 (20-22, 21-09, 15-06) win over Vanuatu’s Sherrysyn Toko & Miller Pata in the Round of 16.
To qualify for the final, China’s Yan X. & XY Xia had defeated New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley & Olivia MacDonald by 2-0 (21-13, 21-17) in the semifinals after cruising through the preliminary round, Round of 16, and quarterfinals on a flawless 5-0 record.
With Volleyball Empowerment support, China’s Xu Yan & Xia Xinyi claimed silver medal at the 2026 AVC Asia Beach Volleyball Championship held in Shangluo, China. (Photo credits: AVC)
American expert Steve Anderson manages Japan’s women’s beach volleyball programme as part of Coach Support projects totaling USD 63,000. Third seeds Shiba & Reika of Japan had strung together a 5-0 run to the semifinals where they lost to eventual gold medalists Fejes & Clancy of Australia in straight sets. However, they claimed the bronze medal after recording a 2-0 (21-16, 21-13) victory over New Zealand’s Polley & MacDonald in the third place match.
With Volleyball Empowerment support, Japan’s Asami Shiba & Reika Murakami claimed bronze medal at the 2026 AVC Asia Beach Volleyball Championship held in Shangluo, China. (Photo credits: AVC)
FIVB has invested a total of USD 231,000 in the Coach Support projects for Australia’s men’s national team with Max Roiuk, Joey Yigit, Ruben Gale and Evgeniya Ukolova currently in charge.
Australia’s Mark Nicolaidis & Izac Carracher arrived in Shangluo with fresh memories of their gold medal feat at the Beach Pro Tour Challenge event held in July. And on Sunday, the Australian third seeds edged out compatriots Thomas Hodges & Ben Hood by 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 15-12) in the men’s final to be crowned champions.
It’s the first Asian title for Nicolaidis & Carracher who had claimed silver medal in the previous edition held in 2024 in Santa Rosa, The Philippines.
Nicolaidis & Carracher had reached the final on a 6-0 record that featured a stunning 2-1 (14-21, 24-22, 15-11) comeback win over three-time champions Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan of Qatar in the semifinals.
With Volleyball Empowerment support, Australia’s Thomas Hodges & Ben Hood claimed silver medal at the 2026 AVC Asia Beach Volleyball Championship held in Shangluo, China. (Photo credits: AVC)
Hodges & Hood also advanced to the final on a 6-0 record including a 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) sweep of China’s Wu Jiaxin & Ch. W. Zhou in the semifinals.
Brazilian legend Riceler Waske Dos Santos is currently the Physical Trainer of China’s men’s team as part of Coach Support projects worth USD 46,800 in total. China’s Wu Jiaxin & Ch. W. Zhou got the bronze medal after Qatar’s Cherif & Ahmed forfeited the third place match due to injury.
The Chinese top seeds Wu Jiaxin & Ch. W. Zhou had strung together a 5-0 flawless record from the preliminary round, Round of 16 and quarterfinals to qualify for the semifinals where they suffered their only defeat of the competition, the 2-0 loss to Australia’s Hodges & Hood.
