25/08/2017 02:10
Home stars do well on #EuroBeachVolleyU18 opening day in Kazan
2017 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships
Kazan, Russia, August 24, 2017. The Main Draw of the 2017 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship started on Thursday at the Beach Sports Complex in Kazan with 32 teams per gender competing across eight pools, each one consisting of four pairs.
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Athletes from more than 30 countries are competing in Russia – with the host nation enjoying the privilege of having as many as three teams per gender taking to the court.
On Thursday, the girls played two pool matches, whereas the boys completed one round only. The local stars managed to please their fans especially since all of the three men’s teams from Russia started the home European Championship with victories in two straight sets.
As for the women, the only Russian team not to suffer any setback were top-seeded Mariia Bocharova/Maria Voronina who beat rivals from Hungary and Turkey, thus securing a place in the elimination phase. Bocharova/Voronina will play on Friday Switzerland’s Mara Betschart/Anna Lutz to complete their duties in the pool. The two remaining teams from Russia were not as successful on the opening day - Elizaveta Ludkova/Kristina Kukushkina lost both of their matches in the pool, but still have chances to make their way to the next round. To achieve this goal the Russians need to beat their final opponents from Belarus. Anna Movchan and Olesia Andreiuk are in a less difficult situation – after Thursday’s games, the Russian girls have one victory and one loss and theoretically, the team from Krasnodar can still finish first in their pool.
Moving on to other pools, it is worth noting the confident start of the girls from Poland, Greece, Sweden, Latvia, the Netherlands, Austria, Ukraine, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic. All these pairs started the event in Kazan with two wins in as many matches and they will lock horns on Friday for a spot in the elimination round.
An official opening ceremony took place on Thursday night in Kazan, attended by the President of the Tatarstan Volleyball Federation and chair of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mr Farid Mukhametshin, CEV Technical Supervisor Henrique Gomes and Tournament Director Leonid Goldman.
“We are grateful to the CEV for the opportunity to host this event here. Kazan is rightfully called the sports capital of Russia. We love Volleyball and Beach Volleyball. It is a great opportunity for our fans to follow this competition, featuring young, talented European athletes under the age of 18. We do not forget Snow Volleyball either, which is also developing at a very fast pace in Europe and in our country as well. There is nothing impossible for Kazan and Tatarstan, so maybe Beach Volleyball and Snow Volleyball will find a home in our city as well. We have all the necessary facilities for it,” Mukhametshin said wishing for full stands for the remainder of the weekend.
Matches of #EuroBeachVolleyU18 will continue on Friday, when all participants of the playoffs will be determined. The tournament in Kazan will finish on Sunday, August 27 with the medal matches.
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