Lehtonen and Lahti didn’t give any chances to the Swedish team Camilla Nilsson/Tadva Yoken in their match on schedule for Round 3 and with the final result of 21-12, 21-14, the top-seeded Finns proved why they are the pre-favourite tandem of the tournament. In the semi-final Lehtonen and Lahti will face Sandra Ittlinger/Yanina Weiland of Germany, who fought their way back via the losers’ bracket to fight for a medal spot.

Another Finnish team, Essi Hasu/Anniina Parkkinen delivered a good performance against Ksenia Dabizha/Yulia Abalakina of Russia, but their tournament as well as Hasu’s international career came to an end after losing 1-2 (20-22, 21-19, 11-15) against the Dutch team Annemieke Driessen/Ilke Meertens.

“This journey has been an amazing one, so I would like to thank my teammates and staff, coach Kai Liukkonen and all the fans for their support,” Hasu said after her final match as a professional Beach Volleyball player. The 29-year old Hasu will now concentrate on her professional career as a private equity consultant. She played twice in the European Championships - in 2015 and 2016 - and also had an important role in the Finnish Olympic project on the way to Rio 2016.

The biggest surprise on Saturday was caused by the sixth-seeded Czech team Magdalena Dostalova/Karolina Rehackova, who took a 2-1 (21-15, 19-21, 15-12) victory in the Round 3 match with Katarina Schillerwein/Cinja Tillmann of Germany and just like Lehtonen/Lahti, the Czech team has been unbeaten until now.

“I am so happy. This is our first time in the semi-finals of a CEV Satellite and actually only the second time that we qualify for the Main Draw,” Dostalova rejoiced. “We are looking forward to the semi-final,” her teammate Rehackova added.

The semi-finals and medal matches of the CEV Kisakallio Satellite are scheduled for Sunday, August 28.

Full schedule and results can be found here.

Click here for a comprehensive photo gallery of Day 3