09/08/2015 21:00
Italy’s golden twins reign supreme at Biel/Bienne Masters
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Biel/Bienne Masters
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, August 9, 2015. On Sunday Italian twin brothers Matteo and Paolo Ingrosso were crowned winners of the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship – Biel/Bienne Masters seizing the gold medal after edging Germany’s Alexander Walkenhorst and Clemens Wickler in the ‘grand finale’ on a day where Ukrainian youngsters Illia Kovalov/Oleh Plotnytskyi remarkably claimed the bronze medal.
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The 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship – Biel/Bienne Masters is being covered extensively also on Twitter and Facebook with the official hashtags being #EuroBeachVolley and #Beachmania
In the backdrop of a humid and cloudy Biel/Bienne, neither the fans nor the players were discouraged as the 2015 edition of the tournament took its place in the history books in fine fashion, beginning with the semi-finals to decide who would remain in the hunt for the coveted gold medal.
Walkenhorst/Wickler took the sand first, and in an entertaining encounter they finally put plucky Ukrainians Kovalov/Plotnytskyi to the sword in two hotly contested sets (25-23, 21-18) to seal their place in the final. The second of the semi-finals threatened to steal the show as favourites Ingrosso/Ingrosso grappled with Latvia’s Haralds Regza/Martins Plavins for 58 minutes, having dropped their first set of the tournament at the worst possible time to go behind (23-25). However, determined not to fall at the penultimate hurdle, the favourites fought back, eventually outgunning their opponents to win 2:1 (21-18, 15-12) and advance to a final showdown with the Germans.
That left Regza/Plavins to contest the bout for bronze, but they were left dazzled by the radiance of Kovalov/Plotnytskyi who triumphed in two sets (21-12, 21-16) to claim the consolation prize for Ukraine, rounding off an impressive tournament after having entered it via the qualifying rounds. These two young guys have a bright future ahead and this one is their first medal at senior level after last year they won silver at the U19 World Championships in Portugal.
Back on centre court, the title plaudits were up for grabs as Ingrosso/Ingrosso and Walkenhorst/Wickler fought for the gold medal in the final instalment of the 2015 competition. If the main course of the Volleyball feast was already being digested by the crowd, the closing show was the icing on the cake, a work of art with an electric tang for the fans to depart the shores of Lake Biel with a tantalising taste in their mouths. A thrilling first set swung the way of the Germans (21-18), who had clearly saved their best for the favourites, Wickler defending stoutly whilst man mountain Walkenhorst did immense damage with his impressive spiking and blocking. Yet once more in these championships the pendulum swung back as the Ingrosso twins responded with some scintillating rallies. Improvisation and flare caught the Germans off guard as they levelled the match with a stunning set point (21-19). The third set continued in the same light, with Ingrosso/Ingrosso finally seeing off the Germans (15-11) with an emphatic championship point to be crowned winners and clinch their second Masters triumph of 2015 – after topping the charts in Jurmala last May – which sets them up well in their pursuit of a place in next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Although night falls over the carnival of Volleyball for now, its light still shines brightly since it has shown what is to come at next year’s European Championships. Yet when one considers the drama that has unfolded, the ecstasy, despair, desire and passion of players and fans alike, it has had everything required of a major tournament and with next year’s competition which will be Biel/Bienne’s crowning glory, it is certain to live long in the memory of everyone involved.
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