15/08/2018 09:50
Czech Republic ready to host #EuroBeachVolleyU18 once again!
2018 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Brno, Czech Republic, August 15, 2018. The 2018 edition of #EuroBeachVolleyU18 starts on Wednesday afternoon at the Brno Reservoir, in Sokol Brno Areal. The championship will continue from Thursday to Sunday with the Main Draw. The city of Brno is hosting #EuroBeachVolleyU18 again after they did so in 2016. Czech rising stars Martina Maixnerova and Marie-Sara Stochlova claimed women’s gold two years ago much to the delight of the home fans. This year there will be as many as six Czech pairs in the competition together with the most promising and talented young Beach Volleyball players in Europe.
There will be eight men’s and eight women’s teams competing in Wednesday’s qualification and only two per gender will make it through to the main stage of #EuroBeachVolleyU18 in Brno. The Main Draw will feature 32 teams per gender, including six from the Czech Republic (three men’s and three women’s teams).
In the men’s tournament, Czech U18 champions Jan Vodicka and Tadeas Trousil will represent the host country together with Jakub Sepka and Jindrich Zavadil, winners of the MEVZA U18 Championship back in June. Vit Benes, son of former Olympian Petr Benes, and Tomas Maixner, brother of Martina Maixnerova, who won gold from the #EuroBeachVolleyU18 in 2016 in Brno, complete the Czech contingent after their participation in the U19 World Championship held in Nanjing, China in July.
However, the favourites are somewhere else. Teams from Russia have been the major force to reckon with in age-group competitions lately – and Denis Shekunov/Dmitrii Veretiuk will be the heavy favourites for another gold medal after they claimed top honours from this year’s U20 European Championship and U19 World Championship already. Swedish rising stars and winners of the CEV Youth Continental Cup Final, David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig are another top team at the event.
Multiple age group World and European champion Mariia Bocharova of Russia will not play with her regular partner Maria Voronina this time, but even with Elizaveta Ludkova she remains one of the top favourites for back-to-back U18 titles. The local fans will keep their eyes on Karin Zolnercikova and Andrea Kinska as well as on reigning Czech and MEVZA U18 champions Julie Honzovicova and Lucie Sulcova. Czech fans will hope for the home teams to follow in the footsteps of Martina Maixnerova and Marie-Sara Stochlova or Marketa Nausch Slukova and Barbora Hermannova, who are the world’s no.1 ‘senior’ team nowadays. Maybe the players from home club Sokol Brno, Eliska Tezzele and Marketa Svozilova can repeat the achievements of their illustrious compatriots.
Who will become the eventual 2018 #EuroBeachVolleyU18 champions? We will know on Sunday!
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