19/01/2014 18:00
Teams from Russia and Germany win gold in Anapa
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Anapa
Anapa, Russia, January 19, 2014. The season’s opener – i.e. the CEV indoor Satellite in Anapa – drew to a close on Sunday at the Volley Grad with home heroes Yaroslav Koshkarev and Ruslan Bykanov and Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude striking gold.
Koshkarev and Bykanov started their quest for home glory with a very tough semifinal against Austria’s Christoph Dressler and Thomas Kunert. After an easy first set (21-13), the Russian guys relaxed a little too early and were punished by their opponents in the second (17-21). The tie-break was extremely close with neither team being able to break away by more than two points but in the end Koshkarev and Bykanov were a little lucky and showed the right determination to seal the final 16-14.
In the final match Koshkarev/Bykanov played their compatriots Konstantin Semenov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov, the top seed of the tournament, and eventually cruised to a straight victory (22-20, 21-17) thereby edging the silver medalists from last year’s FIVB Grand Slam in Berlin. Koshkarev and Bykanov always set the pace of the game and could even find a way to stand the terrific block of Semenov (208 cm). In the end, Koshkarev and Bykanov could celebrate a very successful and promising start of their 2014 season.
After losing in the semis (11-21, 20-22) to Semenov and Krasilnikov, Germany’s Armin Dollinger and Clemens Wickler crowned their campaign with bronze as they beat Dressler and Kunert at the tie-break (19-21, 21-19, and 17-15). The only 18-year old Wickler – a gold medalist from last year’s FIVB U19 World Championship in Porto – looked a little nervous in the first set and his mistakes paved the way with gold for the Austrian pair. However, as they gradually found their game in front of the crowded stands, things got easier for the Germans who in the end showed great fighting spirit to cash bronze.
The women’s final and classification match turned into a carbon copy of what had happened in the third round of the Main Draw. Germany’s Laboureur/Sude could celebrate a happy end of their campaign in Anapa by adding gold from this Satellite to the silver medal they had won about a month ago at the FIVB Open in Durban. Similarly to what they had done in the third round, they edged Russia’s Ekaterina Syrtseva and Alexandra Moiseeva, this time in straight sets (21-19, 21-17). Even the loud support by the Russian crowd that never stopped cheering on the home heroines did not disturb the actions of Laboureur and Sude. “Even though there were no more than three people supporting us today, this did not matter at all” Sude commented. “And anyway it feels just great to play in such an atmosphere. Also the DJ and the music helped us get into the mood like in an ordinary outdoor Beach Volleyball tournament.”
“We were a bit nervous in the first set and this prevented us from showing our best” added partner Chantal Laboureur, a 2012 U23 European champion together with Kira Walkenhorst at that time. “However, we gradually switched to a more aggressive approach and this helped us seize the victory.”
After suffering a setback in the semis where they had lost to compatriots Syrtseva and Moiseeva, Russia’s top team Evgenia Ukolova and Maria Prokopeva got back on track and finally settled for bronze after edging Olga Motrich and 17-year old Daria Rudykh with a double 21-15.
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