13/07/2020 09:35
Russian Beach Volleyball stars return to action in Moscow
News from the National Federations
Moscow, Russia, July 13, 2020. The first stage of the Russian Beach Volleyball championship took place this past weekend at the iconic Vodny stadium in Moscow with participation of many top players in the first competitive event hosted by the Russian Volleyball Federation since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. EuroBeachVolley 2019 silver medallists Konstantin Semenov/Ilya Leshukov were the eventual winners of the men’s competition, while Maria Voronina/Svetlana Kholomina claimed top honours in the women’s event.
In the first Volleyball or Beach Volleyball competition held in Russia since March 21, many elite players returned to action – with Beach Volleyball being the third sport to resume activities in the Russian Federation after soccer and rugby. However, in compliance with the measures in place to curb the spread of the novel virus, no spectators could attend the competition held at the Vodny stadium.
The full women's podium of the event held at Vodny stadium in Moscow
Playing together for the first time, multiple age-group world and European champion Maria Voronina and partner Svetlana Kholomina did not drop a single set in the semi or gold medal match, where they beat Yulia Abalakina/Ksenia Dabizha (21-13, 21-17) and Mariia Bocharova/Elizaveta Gubina (21-14, 21-18). Voronina and Bocharova have previously been playing together for a number of years, becoming the dominant duo in age-group competitions – with their resume including gold from the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Nadezhda Makroguzova and Daria Rudykh claimed the bronze medal after a 2-1 victory (16-21, 21-14, 15-7) over Abalakina and Dabizha.
Konstantin Semenov and Ilya Leshukov celebrate their success in Moscow
In a truly dramatic men’s final, Semenov/Leshukov beat reigning world champion Oleg Stoyanovskiy and interim partner Aleksandr Kramarenko 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 18-16). Alexey Gusev and Pavel Shustrov completed the podium after edging Aleksei Arkhipov and Dmitrii Veretiuk 2-1 (15-21, 21-18, 15-11) in the bronze medal match.
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