26/08/2017 22:56
Russian teams dream of historic clean sweep at #EuroBeachVolleyU18
2017 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships
Kazan, Russia, August 26, 2017. The semi-finalists of the 2017 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship emerged on Saturday – with hosts Russia likely to make history as all of their three teams participating in the men’s competition progressed to the semis. As a result, there could be an all-Russian podium on Sunday – with a team from France now trying to prevent a clean sweep of the medals by the hosts.
Two of the home teams will lock horns in the semis, so Russia guaranteed itself, at least, the silver medal from this year’s #EuroBeachVolleyU18, but the hosts are hoping to complete a clean sweep of the podium. Pavel Shustrov/Alexey Gusev will play Denis Shekunov/Timur Ermotik in the all-Russian semi-final. In the quarterfinals, Shustrov and Gusev broke the resistance of a very strong pair from Germany, Julian Lorentz/Rudy Schneider, while Shekunov/Ermotik were stronger than their Estonian opponents, Rasmus Meius and Märt Tammearu.
“Of course, it would be better if we could play our compatriots in the final, but there’s nothing you can do about this. It is very cool that three teams from Russia have reached the semi-finals. We will try to win a full set of medals. This has never happened in the history of the European Championships, so we want to make history here in Kazan. In general, it is great to play at home with the support of our fans. Thanks everybody for this unique opportunity,” commented Shustrov.
In the other semi-final, Russia’s Aleksei Arkhipov/Nikolay Chukhnenkov will compete for a ticket to the ‘grand finale’ against Vivien Tournier/Paul Nicole of France. Arkhipov and Chukhnenkov played their toughest match on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. The Russians managed to make a comeback in the game against the Portuguese team Joao Pedrosa/Hugo Campos, which they eventually won 19-21, 23-21, 15-12. After that, the Russians routed representatives of Slovenia and Norway by recording two consecutive 2-0 wins. The French also experienced the greatest problems in the first round of the playoffs, where they defeated the Ukrainian team Anton Matvieiev/Vladyslav Pavliuk in three sets (21-15, 15-21, 15-10).
Russia’s strongest teams in the women’s competition crossed their ways in the quarterfinals. Mariia Bocharova and Maria Voronina not without difficulty still proved to be stronger than Olesia Andreiuk and Anna Movchan (21-17, 21-14). For the right to play in the gold medal match, the Russians will face on Sunday morning the duo from Italy Chiara Mason/Claudia Scampoli. On the way to the semis, the young Italian women comfortably beat their opponents from Sweden, Sofia Andersson and Hanna Hellvig (21-12, 21-14).
In the other semi-final, Ukraine’s Viktoriia Lysytsia and Kateryna Dashevska will play Raisa Schoon and Emi van Driel of the Netherlands. After a hard-fought victory over Spain in the Round of 16, the Ukrainians defeated the girls from the Czech Republic Karin Zolnercikova/Sarlota Svobodova in two sets. The intrigue in this match was only in the first set, which the Ukrainians won 21-19, before rallying to a comfortable 21-13 win in the second. As for the young players from the Netherlands, Schoon/van Driel made it to the semis with a difficult match against the Swiss team Mara Betschart/Anna Lutz before they easily beat (21-17, 21-9) Finland’s Aliisa Vuorinen and Valma Prihti in the quarterfinals.
On Sunday, August 27, the winners and all other medallists of the 2017 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship will emerge in Kazan after five days of exciting competition featuring the most promising players in Europe.
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