24/09/2020 21:00
Tournament favourites catch flying start at #EuroBeachVolleyU22
CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championships 2020
Izmir, Turkey, September 24, 2020. After a short break following completion of the U18 competition on Sunday, #EuroBeachVolleyU22 started on Thursday in Izmir at very same venue on Pamucak Beach, right on the shores of the Aegean Sea, with the players challenged by windy weather conditions.
In the men’s competition, Mio Wüst and Rudy Schneider of Germany had a great start to their campaign as they beat Turkey’s local heroes Eren Kanli and Ali Cebeci 2-1 (21-13, 20-22, 15-12). Earlier in the morning, the Germans had secured another 2-1 victory over Marko Makaric and Luka Nikolic of Serbia.
Newly crowned U20 European champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden (pictured above) showed their determination to shine in Izmir as well after securing U20 gold only two weeks ago in Brno, Czech Republic. The young Swedes recorded two victories in as many matches as they beat the Swiss duo Nathan Broch/Jonathan Jordan 2-1 (16-21, 21-15, 15-10) and Latvia’s Rinalds Aispurs/Ardis Bedritis 2-0 (21-13, 21-16).
In the women’s competition, reigning U22 European champions Maria Voronina and Mariia Bocharova of Russia needed 32 minutes only to sweep aside Sofiia Rylova and Yeva Serdiuk of Ukraine 2-0 (21-17, 21-13), with the Ukrainians being the bronze medal winners from the U20 competition held in Brno.
Chenoa Christ and Anna-Lena Grüne beat reigning U20 European champions Brailko/Namike of Latvia on Thursday
In the afternoon session, Chenoa Christ and Anna-Lena Grüne of Germany faced the recently crowned #EuroBeachVolleyU20 champions Varvara Brailko and Anete Namike of Latvia. The Germans caused a little sensation with their 2-1 victory (15-21, 21-18, 15-10) – following a hard-fought tiebreak.
“We have started the tournament one win and one loss. The match with Latvia was a tough one for us,” said Christ.
The competition will resume on Friday with the second day of pool play, with a place in the knockout phase at stake.
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