Austrian pair and Russian duo grab World Tour gold medal
The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball World Tour – Langkawi Open 2018 came to a conclusion on Sunday after an epic day of action on a very wet day at centre court in Langkawi’s Pantai Cenang.
The torrential conditions on Sunday were a stark contrast to the scorching conditions players had to endure over the last few days.
After making through the qualification rounds on Thursday to earn their spot in the main draw, Austrians Simon Frühbauer/Jörg Wutzl made it a weekend to remember when they triumphed against the odds to emerge as the tournament’s gold-medalists.
They defeated the strong Russian pair, Petr Bakhnar/Taras Myskiv (RUS) in a three-set thriller, with a 2-1 score (21-15, 18-21, 15-13). Taking home the bronze medal was Thailand’s Nuttanon Inkiew/Sedtawat Padsawud after seeing off the challenge from German pair Paul Becker/Eric Stadie.
Winners Frühbauer/Wutzl notes, “This is our first gold medal in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for Austria! It’s amazing and it was an incredible game! We started really well in the first set, but in the second set they [Russian team] fought back so it was hard and we lost. In the third, we had a really good game. For us, they were really tough opponents, and I think for us, they were the hardest opponents throughout the whole tournament. For sure, this result is a step in the right direction.”
In the women’s competition, it was the Russian ladies Ksenia Dabizha/Daria Mastikova (RUS) who managed to come away from the grueling competition with the gold medal.
Going one better than their male counterparts, Dabizha/Mastikova overcame the strong challenge from Dutch qualifiers Katja Stam/Julia Wouters in straights sets in the ladies’ final (21-10, 29-27).
The Dutch had earlier defeated the Czech Republic’s Martina Bonnerova/Tereza Pluharova to make the final. Claiming the bronze medal were Australia’s Phoebe Bell/Jessyka Ngauamo after edging out Bonnerova/Pluharova to claim the third and final spot on the podium.
Commenting on the game, Dabizha/Mastikova notes, “The first set was really easy, but the second was much harder as the Dutch ladies fought back and fought hard. It made us quite nervous as we had to fight for every point. We have to thank all the Russian fans who came down to watch us play, which motivated us to play well.”
Results
Men’s:
Simon Frühbauer/Jörg Wutzl (AUT) – winner
Petr Bakhnar/Taras Myskiv (RUS) – 2nd place
Nuttanon Inkiew/Sedtawat Padsawud (THA) – 3rd place
Women’s:
Ksenia Dabizha/Daria Mastikova (RUS) – winner
Katja Stam/Julia Wouters (NED) – 2nd place
Phoebe Bell/Jessyka Ngauamo (AUS) – 3rd place
