Matosinhos, Portugal, June 8, 2014.  The Czech Republic’s Natalie Honzovicova / Tereza Pluharova claimed the first place in the women’ European Qualification Tournament for the 2014 FIVB U17 World Championship resumed today at Praia de Matosinhos.  Five more countries – Russia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and France, gained main draw quotas for the World Championship in Mexico.  The next five from the final standings – Latvia, Poland, Greece, England and Spain, will also send duos to Latin America to take part in the qualification matches on July 15 in Acapulco.

On the last day of competition on the Portuguese Atlantic coast, Honzovicova / Pluharova achieved a tough 52-minute semifinal win over Dutch Nika Daalderop / Susanne Kos by 2:1 (24-22, 22-24, 15-12), to be followed by a somewhat easier 2:0 (21-18, 21-12) victory over Russia’s Elizaveta Zayonchkovskaya / Yulia Smirnova in the final.

“We cannot express our emotions...,” exclaimed the Czech girls.  “This is of the utmost importance to us as it is one of the first tournaments we participate in, so it is like magic to us!  Very, very good!  It was tough in the first day, especially on a psychological level, but as the tournament unfolded it became easier for us.”

The Russian representatives Zayonchkovskaya / Smirnova shared their great ambitions, not only related to this tournament, but also for the World Championship.  “We are very happy with this qualification, but most of all we wanted to win this competition.  We hope to achieve victory in Mexico.  It has been a good tournament for us, we have played well and people in general are very friendly and nice.  For us, the best teams in this tournament are the ones from the Czech Republic, Poland and the Netherlands.”

In their semifinal match the Russians had defeated Portugal’s Beatriz Lacerda / Margarida Vasques by 2:0 (21:9, 21:14) and in the third-place final the team from the Netherlands also shut out the home country’s representatives by 2:0 (21-16, 24-22).

The semifinals in the 5th-place classification bracket carried a special importance since they also provided their winners tickets to the main draw in Acapulco.  In three-set battles, Italy’s Reka Orsi Toth / Silvia D'Este overvame Poland’s Martyna Kloda / Monika Warczyglowa by 2:1 (21-13, 17-21, 15-13), while France’s Coralie Viale / Ines Ben Jaddiby outplayed Latvia’s Tina Graudina / Linda Elizabete Gramberga by 2:1 (10-21, 23-21, 15-10).

The final for the 11th place between the Spanish pair Clara Barcelo Puchulutegui / Marina Balasch Antolin and Serbian duo Irena Drobnjak / Tijana Basic was also followed very carefully at noon on Sunday, since it was crucial for the last European spot in the qualifications in Mexico.  The Iberian team proved to be too strong for their opponents from the Balkans and defeated them by 2:0 (21-11, 21-14).