01/08/2013 12:30
Time has come for Russia to win a medal again
2013 CEV A1 Beach Volleyball European Championship Final presented by checkrobin.com
Klagenfurt, Austria, August 1, 2013. Some years ago the Financial Times Deutschland awarded Klagenfurt as the world’s Beach Volleyball “capital”. There is no need to say that the capital of Carinthia is “THE place to be” for anyone who is fond of this sport but Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Khomyakova surely have a special connection with this city. Last year, shortly before competing in the London Olympics, Klagenfurt was the place where they wrote history turning into Russia’s first pair to win an FIVB Grand Slam tournament.
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“Of course Klagenfurt is a very special place for us” Ukolova says. “When we got here on Sunday, so many memories came back from last year; we are evidently pleased to play here and we enjoy the unique atmosphere and ambiance of this tournament”.
Ukolova and Khomyakova travelled to Austria after seizing gold at the FIVB Open in Anapa this past Saturday and they are among the teams that finished their campaign in the prelims with an immaculate record of three wins in as many matches. On Thursday morning they completed pool play by edging Germany’s U23 world champion Victoria Bieneck and Julia Grössner 21-11, 21-19. They still haven’t dropped a set in the competition and they hence got the chance to by-pass the first stage of the elimination round. “Like any athlete we always set the highest goals” Ukolova adds. “We want to make it to the top 4 and play for the medals on Saturday. We are extremely happy with the result of today’s game for we finished on top of the standings in our pool and we wait now for the results of the drawing of lots to know more about what’s next in this tournament”.
Russia’s last and sole medal in the women’s tournament dates back to 2006 as Alexandra Shiryaeva and Natalya Uryadova won gold in The Hague. Ukolova and Khomyakova – who are coached by Italian Beach Volleyball pioneer Marco Solustri – are their country’s top contenders for a spot on the podium. Apart from the FIVB Open in Anapa, this summer they also won gold at the Universiade in Kazan, so a European Championship medal would be the icing on the cake. “We just take it step by step but we evidently came here to play our best and win a medal”.
Their record – 3 wins with no sets lost – was achieved also by Germany’s Holtwick/Semmler and by Dutch girls Jolien Sinnema and Michelle Stiekema who on Thursday downed home heroines Magdalena Jirak and Lena Plesiutschnig 21-13, 21-14. 2012 European champions Marleen van Iersel and Sanne Keizer dropped a set in their third game as they cruised past Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova 19-21, 21-14, and 15-5 similarly to what have done last year’s bronze medallists Liliana/Baquerizo (ESP) in their match with another “orange” duo, Jantine van der Vlist/Marloes Wesselink (21-15, 18-21, and 15-11). Italy’s Greta Cicolari, a European champion two years ago in Kristiansand, also had her share of joy: after parting ways with Marta Menegatti, she seized the first victory of her “second life” in Beach Volleyball with Silvia Costantini beating Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite and Monika Povilaiyte to make it to the elimination round (21-10, 21-19).
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