10/05/2014 18:30
Latvia’s Plavins and Solovejs top the charts at CEV Antalya Satellite
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Antalya
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Antalya, Turkey, May 10, 2014. Though three teams from Austria had made the semis of the CEV Satellite in Antalya, Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Solovejs were the ones ultimately standing on top of the podium at the end of a tournament that was played under difficult weather conditions. Plavins and Solovejs first beat Peter Eglseer and Felix Koraimann in the semis (18-16, 15-13, 11-15, 15-9) before edging top-seeded Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst with a similar score line in the final match (11-15, 15-10, 17-15, 15-11). Bronze went to Daniel Müllner and Jörg Wutzl who routed their countrymen Eglseer and Koraimann in straight sets (17-15, 15-12, 15-12).
2012 Olympic bronze medalist Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Solovejs dominated the final match with the only exception being the first set. Austria’s two-time European champion Clemens Doppler and partner Alexander Horst cruised to a 15-11 set win but after that Plavins and Solovejs stepped up to claim the second by 15-10. The third was closely contested and Plavins/Solovejs eventually had the upper hand at the overtime (17-15) before keeping momentum also in the fourth and strike gold (15-11).
“Turkey is my second home because I play also in the local Beach Volleyball league,” a happy Martins Plavins commented after the final. “Many people know me here in Turkey. This is a huge victory for us especially after we played very bad last week in Shanghai. We thank our coach, the sponsors, our respective families and the fans. We are preparing for the European Champs in Cagliari and we will stay here in Antalya for another ten days as we have excellent conditions to continue with our build up for the next competitions.”
“The first game was very tough for us but we improved day after day. The weather here was not that good but I am happy with this victory,” said partner Aleksandrs Solovejs.
The trophy for the gold medalists of the tournament was presented by Turkish Volleyball Federation President Özkan Mutlugil and by Ms. Masha Bobrikova, on behalf of the main sponsor of the tournament, Komus.
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