20/05/2018 19:00
Cuba nail women’s gold at Aydin Open as Russia and Sweden complete the podium
2018 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Aydin
Aydin, Turkey, May 20, 2018. Cuba’s Leila Martinez and Mailen Deliz are the eventual winners of the 1-Star Aydin Open after they edged their opponents in the semi-finals and gold medal match they contested on Sunday. Russia’s top-seeded Ksenia Dabizha and Daria Mastikova claimed silver as Susanna and Kristina Thurin secured a historic bronze medal for Sweden – the first-ever for their country on the World Tour since international competition started in 1987 and 1992 for men and women, respectively.
The Cubans were always a step ahead in the final with Dabizha/Mastikova and they eventually sealed a 21-18, 21-16 victory. “We are very happy with this victory and we obviously feel good,” Mailen Deliz said. “We loved both the crowd and the city. We will be doing our best in the next international tournament that we are due to contest in Russia.”
Leila Martinez and Mailen Deliz of Cuba celebrate their gold medal winning performance in Aydin
The bronze medal match was an all-Swedish affair with Susanna and Kristina Thurin playing their compatriots Tadva Yoken and Sigrid Simonsson. Yoken/Simonsson won the first set and secured a 20-18 lead in the second but the Thurin twins responded to sweep two sets in a row (26-24 and 15-11) and with it, they secured the bronze medals. “We just wanted to have fun out there on the court and it worked this way,” the Thurins said. “Any match with Tadva and Sigrid is always a close one and this time we won, thus managing to make it to the podium on the World Tour for the very first time. We are obviously delighted.”
Susanna and Kristina Thurin of Sweden in action during the bronze medal game
Earlier in the day in the semis, Dabizha/Mastikova had recorded a 21-17, 21-10 victory over Thurin/Thurin as Martinez/Deliz left no chance to Yoken/Simonsson (21-16, 21-9). Interestingly, Simonsson is a former world champion in bandy – a ‘variation’ of ice hockey played on a much larger court and with a ball instead of the usual pack (Read more here).
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