After the quarterfinals on Day 5 of the 2007 FIVB Beach Volleyball Women's Challenger held on August 17, four teams from Switzerland, Brazil, Thailand and host China entered the semifinals scheduled for tomorrow. China's top seeded pair of Zhang Ying/Ji Linjun, who had remained unbeaten in the previous rounds, were unexpectedly eliminated by Kulna/Yupa Phokongploy, a combination from Thailand.

The first match was between Schmocker/Forrer of Switzerland and Shen Rongrong /Guo Qian of China. The Swiss pair extended their unbeaten record in the match with a victory of 2:0, showing their strength as favorites for the championship. The consistent performance of the Swiss pair surprised all the competitors, it is believed that they will give more excellent performances in the near future.

The second match was an all-Chinese affair between Zhang Wenwen/Yue Yuan and Zhang Dan/Ma Yuanyuan. As the two pairs know each other very well, the match progressed exactly as Zhang Wenwen/Yue Yuan had expected yesterday, with Zhang/Yue beating their compatriots in straight sets (21-15, 21-14). For their victory over Zhang Dan/Ma Yuanyuan who had remained unbeaten in previous rounds, Zhang Wenwen/Yue Yuan was worthy of great expectation for further progress.

However, the highlight of this round was the match between China's Zhang Ying/Ji Linjun and Thailand's Kulna/Yupa Phokongploy. As the No.1 seeds, Zhang/Ji had shouldered great expectations held by the home crowds since the beginning of the tournament. Under such tremendous pressure their attacks appeared totally ineffective before the defensive play of their opponents. Although the score of 0:2 could not show the real difference in the two teams' strength, the spectators were impressed with the play by the Thai pair. Zhang's tearful eyes in a post-match interview showed their disappointment with the result and the pressure they had borne before.

The last to qualify for the semifinals was another hot favorite pair - Angela Vieira/Danielle da Conceicao Cunha Vivan of Brazil, who beat China's Li Yang/Hu Anna 2:0 (21-14, 21-18) to continue their marching toward the championship. In the match, the Brazilian pair displayed their first-class defense with one diving save after another, winning bursts of applause from all the spectators. So far, the performance of the Brazilian pair may be rated as perfect, as they have not only remained unbeaten but met no great challenges from their opponents. It is thus believed that they will keep up their fight in tomorrow's semifinals to warm up for the final showdown.