28/06/2018 23:13
Home stars shine on opening day of #EuroBeachVolleyU20
2018 CEV U20 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Anapa, Russia, June 28, 2018. The 2018 edition of #EuroBeachVolleyU20 started on Thursday in Anapa with 32 men’s and 32 women’s teams competing in eight groups, featuring four teams each. Athletes from as many as 29 countries are participating in this tournament, mostly with one men’s team and one women’s team. Some countries like the Netherlands and Switzerland feature with two men’s and two women’s teams. Russia as host country have a maximum quota, with three teams per gender competing on home sand.
The 2018 #EuroBeachVolleyU20 started with reigning U20 European champions Sergey Gorbenko/Vasilii Ivanov of Russia (pictured) playing Sotiris Siapanis/Odysseas Savvides from Cyprus. The Russian team could cope with their strong competitors and emerged victorious from a very difficult match 2-1 (24-26, 21-14, 15-9). Russian teams currently lead the way in Pools A, C, E. A team from France tops Pool B, while young players from Romania, Italy, Sweden and Poland claimed the top spots in Pools D, F, G and H.
Following Gorbenko and Ivanov’s victory, Yaroslav Koshkarev, coach of the Russian youth Men’s National team shared his feelings: “It was a very difficult game for my players because it is very hot in Anapa, something like 40 degrees Celsius. My team opened the programme of the tournament and was a little bit nervous in the beginning. I think that tomorrow we will overcome our weaknesses and show our best qualities.”
“All games were uneasy for us. We thought that we could play much better. We will try to improve our game and win tomorrow’s matches,” Ivanov said.
Anna Movchan of Russia in action during the opening day of #EuroBeachVolleyU20 in Anapa
Russia’s Anna Movchan/Elena Fediunova lost their first match against the strong Swiss team Esmée Böbner/Sibelly Gilardi – 1-2 (18-21, 25-23, 13-15). However, Movchan/Fediunova regrouped to win their second match over a team from Lithuania. Mariia Bocharova/Maria Voronina, double gold medallists from last year’s under-age European Championships, started their campaign with a victory against opponents from the Netherlands. The third Russian team of Anastasiia Frolova/Aleksandra Ganenko edged their opponents from Norway in two sets.
Dmitry Fedotov, head coach of the Russian youth Women’s National team: “Today Movchan/Fediunova played against a strong Swiss team. Esmée Böbner has a very strong service and she has participated in many international tournaments already. My girls have a lack of experience when it comes to playing on such important tournaments. I am not satisfied with the way they acted today. Anastasiia Frolova and Aleksandra Ganenko showed a very good style of game but Mariia Bocharova/Maria Voronina did not show their best rhythm. We must correct our mistakes and tomorrow we will improve our results.”
Women’s teams from England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria and Spain claimed the top position in their Pools after the first competition day.
#EuroBeachVolleyU20 will continue on Friday to determine the teams progressing to the knockout phase.
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