17/06/2015 18:50
France’s Longuet and Adelin re-unite for European Games, leave their mark on pool play
2015 European Games
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17, 2015. On Wednesday night France’s Mélinda Adelin and Laura Longuet completed a clean sweep of their matches in the pool phase and got to enjoy the stage of the centre court at the Beach Arena in Baku as they stormed back after losing the first set to edge Ukraine’s twins Inna and Iryna Makhno (18-21, 24-22, 15-10) to top the charts of their group. It is a remarkable achievement for Adelin and Longuet who this way enjoy a bye in the first elimination round and will resume their campaign at the European Games playing for a spot in the quarterfinals.
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Adelin and Longuet played together for quite some time but they ended their partnership at the end of the 2014 season since another two girls – Alexandra Jupiter and Ophélie Lusson – have joined the programme of the French Volleyball Federation and the coaches have decided to test different combinations to see what kind of results Laura and Mélinda can achieve with different partners. However, since the entries for the Baku Games were determined according to the National Federation ranking as of January 1 this year, Adelin and Longuet have re-united specifically to represent France at the European Games.
It seems it is working just fine as they have swept all of their matches so far: “We trained together for one week but even though we have been with different partners since the start of the season, we are part of the same group and train in the same camp at Montpellier, so we could find back our chemistry quite quickly. We have been playing each other also during our training sessions, we have done some sparring and so it did not take us too long to get back into the rhythm,” they admit.
The French ladies share the opinion of many other colleagues that the European Games are an experience on their own: “The atmosphere and everything around these Games are something completely different than any other tournament we have been to,” they say. “It’s like a downsized Olympics and it feels great to be members of a much larger delegation which includes athletes from many other sports. We share the same building at the village and it feels like we are one big family, supporting each other in our respective endeavours. We have been to many events also of the World Tour but what you experience here in Baku is really something unique.”
Longuet and Adelin have scored some important wins in the tournament, opening with a speedy 21-13, 21-14 in their match with a strong Russian duo, Maria Prokopieva and Ekaterina Syrtseva. “We are especially pleased with that victory,” they say. “We can now rest a little bit longer as we finished first in our pool and we will immediately start planning for tomorrow as there will be a lot at stake; we are just one victory away from making the quarterfinals of the first ever European Games and this is definitely the goal we have set and we want to achieve. Once we get there, anything more will be a bonus.”
It is difficult to spot a team that is really outstanding here in Baku and therefore to make a prediction about the eventual medallists is also not an easy task. “We only know that starting from now the level is going to increase and our opponents will get stronger and stronger,” Laura and Mélinda say. “In the next round we will be playing the winner of a match starring teams that have finished second or third in their pool, so we can already reckon with a strong opponent.”
Beach Volleyball is developing very fast also in France and especially Youssef Krou and Edouard Rowlandson have left their mark on the global stage in recent times. “We think there is no other secret than hard work,” Laura and Mélinda admit. “This is how Youssef and Edouard have made it to the top. We have to continue to work hard and are determined to do so. After the Games here in Baku, we have a WEVZA event at our home base in Montpellier, and we are planning to participate in the FIVB Open in Istanbul. We definitely like the concept of zonal competitions as we get the chance to get more points and this way we improve our position in the FIVB rankings. Last year we also participated in an indoor zonal event in Montpellier and we really liked it even though when you play indoors you have to adjust to different conditions and play in a different way. However, indoor events are also mostly welcome because you get the chance to play more and, again, to collect ranking points.”
The same points that are at stake also in Baku but Longuet and Adelin have more to achieve in Azerbaijan than just to improve their international ranking: “After scoring three straight wins in the pool, we do not feel any extra pressure, actually we got another boost of energy and motivation. We are very proud to represent France here at the Games and we hope that our run will continue also in the next round.”
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