20/08/2017 11:41
Kolocova/Kvapilova stun top seeds to secure Czech medal
2017 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Final
Jurmala, Latvia, August 20, 2017. If the men’s final of the 2017 #EuroBeachVolley features probably the ‘hottest’ pre-favourites for the continental crown – Latvia’s home stars Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins and reigning European champions Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo of Italy – the women’s tournament has been producing a number of real sensations since earlier this week. This trend continued on Sunday morning with the first semi-final, where Kristyna Kolocova/Michala Kvapilova of the Czech Republic beat top-seeded Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude of Germany at the end of a truly exciting match (2-1; 21-17, 15-21, 15-11). Germany will nevertheless have a shot at the title since Nadja Glenzke/Julia Grossner comfortably won the second semi-final with Poland’s Kinga Kolosinska/Jagoda Gruszczynska 21-13, 21-19.
Laboureur/Sude had travelled to Latvia’s most popular seaside resort hoping to repeat their success from last year’s Jurmala Masters – and after yesterday’s sensational elimination of reigning Olympic and world champions Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst, the Germans were regarded as the ‘heavy’ favourites for the title.
However, Kolocova and Kvapilova delivered an incredibly solid performance and with their flying start to the match, they set the tone for what was going to follow. Kolocova and Kvapilova trailed early in the second set but two straight aces by Kolocova propelled a Czech lead – however, they failed to capitalise on it as Laboureur/Sude lived up to their fame of real ‘fighters’ to come back strong and go for the tiebreak. The Czechs won one of the most exciting rallies of the whole match to move the score to 4-3 before widening their advantage to 8-5. The Germans, however, fought back to 8-8 but made a few mistakes later on as Kolocova/Kvapilova raised to the occasion to secure a spot in the gold medal match and upset the first seeds of the tournament held on Majori beach.
Kolocova and Kvapilova secured their first #EuroBeachVolley medal and they will at least emulate what their compatriots Marketa Slukova/Barbora Hermannova did last year in Biel / Bienne, where the Czechs lost the ‘grand finale’ to Ludwig/Walkenhorst. Slukova and Hermannova could not compete in Jurmala as they withdrew from the #EuroBeachVolley on Tuesday night due to Slukova’s struggling with a back injury.
Kolocova/Kvapilova continue the Czech tradition in this competition – which started back in 1994 when Martina Hudcova/Dolores Storkova won silver at the inaugural women’s #EuroBeachVolley in Espinho, Portugal. Eva Celbova and Sona Novakova-Dosoudilova are the most successful Czech players in history with their gold medals from the 1996 and 1998 editions of the European Championship – and they have three bronze medals to their name as well (1997, 1999, and 2002) next to bronze from the 2001 Worlds in Klagenfurt.
The Czechs lamented their lack of consistency in the match despite emerging victorious in the end. “I was not that precise when playing side-out, they were not serving on me most of the match, but then their tactic changed,” Kolocova admitted. “I had to adjust and it took me too long to do so, especially in the second set. In the third set, once more we had the lead 8-5, but they made it 8-8, so I told myself it could not happen anymore. I made my side outs and it went well.”
“It is normal for a team of their level to make two great defence actions in a row or two aces and tie the score, but we remained confident in ourselves and we made it,” an elated Kvapilova added. “It is not over yet, so it will definitely be a battle in the final. We want gold, but it is already an amazing feeling!”
Kolocova praised the support they enjoyed from a bunch of the Czech fans in attendance. “A floorball team from the Czech Republic was playing a tournament in Riga this weekend and they found out we are playing in the semi-finals. They contacted us to ask if they could come over to watch us. We encouraged them to come and support, as it would be great to have our people here in the crowd. They did it and we could feel their support, so we really thank them for that.”
After their 2-0 victory in the semi with Poland, Nadja Glenzke was obviously over the moon. “When you win the first set, you know that the opponent will start the second by putting more pressure than before. This can be their last set, so they would have nothing to lose but to play their best against us. We knew that Kolosinska/Gruszczynska would fight for every ball and they reduced our advantage from five points to just one. We tried to keep our heads cool and to stay calm. We wanted to make sure we would not get nervous at any point. Now we are just simply happy we made it in two sets.”
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