20/07/2012 22:00
European title open to surprises in men’s tournament
2012 CEV U23 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Assen, Netherlands, July 20, 2012. The favourite teams confirmed their authority in the spectacular men’s competition of the 2012 CEV U23 Beach Volleyball European Championship. The main candidates for the title reached the semi-finals of the tournament being held in the Dutch city of Assen, as Popov/Samoday from Ukraine, Dollinger/Schröder from Germany, Kantor/Losiak from Poland and Dziadkou/Vishneuski from Belarus qualified to fight for the European crown.
Anything can happen in the 2012 edition of the CEV U23 Beach Volleyball European Championship. Day 3 of the tournament in the men’s event represented the main evidence of the spectacularity and equality of the competition, since the decisive matches resulted in a extraordinary and high-level quest for glory.
Germany started the day with the intention of achieving the success of qualifying both of its teams for the semi-finals. The two German duos clashed in a sensational third round game which was set to prove the great level of the central European squads. This honor was earned by Dollinger/Schröder who beat country fellowmen Dittelbach/Drößler 2-1 (21-17, 16-21, 15-12) in a thrilling and disputed game.
The second place in semi-finals, directly from third round, was achieved by Popov/Samoday from Ukraine, who beat Poland’s Kantor/Losiak 2-1 (16-21, 21-18, 15-9) in an exciting match that showed the outstanding level of this competition. “It was a very good game”, said Valeriy Samoday; “For Beach Volleyball, it was great that people could see this match, because it was really high-level. It is evident that both teams play at top international competitions, like Grand Slams and World Tours, so it is a very important victory for us”.
Despite the defeat in the third round, the Polish duo Kantor/Losiak could recover and certified its condition of candidate to gold, as the three times European champions also earned a spot in the semi-finals. The team from Poland, after reaching the title of CEV U20 European Championship in 2011, CEV U20 European Championship in 2010 and CEV U18 European Championship in 2009, granted the opportunity to fight for yet another continental crown once they beat Bykanov/Krasilnikov from Russia 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) in the losers round.
“We played a good match”, said Bartosz Losiak. “We could finish the actions and we did not make too many mistakes. We put pressure to our rivals with the serve and we played good to win”, added the 20-year old player. “Tomorrow we play against a strong team like Germany; we hope we can win and fight for the medal” he commented.
The last spot in the semi-finals was earned by Dziadkou/Vishneuski from Belarus. The team from Belarus defeated Dittelbach/Drößler from Germany 2-1 (21-19, 26-28, 15-12) in a disputed closing match of the day. “It was a good match; it was very hard for us to win, and I am happy that we are in the semi-finals”, said Belarus’ Aliaksandr Dziadkou. “Tomorrow we will fight hard for victory”.
Dziadkou/Vishneuski from Belarus will clash against Popov/Samoday from Ukraine in the first semi-final, as Dollinger/Schröder from Germany will face Kantor/Losiak of Poland in the second semifinal. A new era of domination in European Beach Volleyball is a stake in Assen and the teams from Germany, Ukraine, Poland and Belarus will fight to reach the top of the podium in the spectacular 2012 CEV U23 Beach Volleyball European Championship.
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