29/11/2018 18:00
Katarina Fabjan adds next chapter to Slovenia’s Beach Volleyball dynasty
2018 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Ljubljana Winter
Ljubljana, Slovenia, November 29, 2018. The first-ever FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour indoor event held in the Slovenian capital city of Ljubljana is going to feature as many as four women’s teams from the host country. These include two talented youngsters from Ljubljana - Katarina Fabjan and Klara Kregar. Katarina is the third member of the Fabjan family that will compete in the Main Draw of a FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event.
“At first, my parents signed me up for mountain climbing, but I decided to try myself in Volleyball, as I have always watched my older sisters play this beautiful sport,” Katarina says before such a major highlight in her still young career. “Watching their enthusiasm on and off the court, the passion and the energy they had for the sport is what convinced me to follow their very same path. When I watched them on the World Tour, playing against some of the best players in the world, I realised that I wanted to experience that myself.”
The 21-year old from Ljubljana, coached by her 8-year older sibling Simona, has decided to leave the indoor courts and focus solely on her Beach Volleyball career. “I find Beach Volleyball a lot more challenging for me as a player, the sand gives the extra toughness, the game itself is also a bit different than indoor Volleyball and I enjoy it a lot,” she continues.
Katarina is the fourth and the youngest daughter in the Fabjan family and she is following in the footsteps of Helena, Simona and Erika. They all played Beach Volleyball, with Erika and Simona managing to build respectful national and international careers, winning two consecutive national championships in 2008 and 2009, playing together in 23 World Tour events and collecting almost 50 international appearances between 2004 and 2011. After ending their professional careers, Erika and Simona established the Fabjan sisters Beach Volleyball School in 2014.
Katarina Fabjan (left) and Klara Kregar ready for their Main Draw World Tour debut in Ljubljana.
“Our parents are fully supporting me in the same way as they did with Simona and Erika. They are happy that I am continuing the Fabjan family’s Beach Volleyball story and hoping I may achieve even more than my sisters did. But I am only at the beginning of my career, and when playing tomorrow, that will be a new step in my life,” said Katarina, who will have the privilege to play in the Main Draw of her very first World Tour tournament in front of her family and friends. Her first World Tour appearance came at this year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Siofok 1-star Satellite in August, where she and Klara Kregar were not able to qualify for the Main Draw.
“I see the same desire in her as there was with me and Simona in our time as partners. She shares the same love for this sport and the devotion to hard work and training. I am extremely happy she decided the way she did. With her matches, I am reliving my career with Simona, who is now coaching Katarina and Klara. We talk a lot after the training and matches and I try to support the girls with my experience,” said Erika, at 31 the oldest of the four Fabjan sisters.
Katarina Fabjan and Klara Kregar will play their first match of the pool play on Friday.
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