Challenge - Bhubaneswar, IND - 2026

Belgium’s Van Langendonck & Vercauteren snatch first Challenge gold

Czechia’s Sepka & Dzavoronok settle for silver, Israel’s Elazar & Cuzmiciov take bronze in Bhubaneswar

Published 03:07, 08 Mar 2026

Joppe Van Langendonck & Kyan Vercauteren triumph in Bhubaneswar (source: sporza.be)

2023 U21 world champions Joppe Van Langendonck & Kyan Vercauteren of Belgium earned their first Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour gold in the Challenge category by winning the Bhubaneswar men’s tournament in India. Previously, they had two golds and a silver from Futures events.

Top-seeded Jakub Sepka & Matyas Dzavoronok of Czechia claimed silver, crowning their Beach Pro Tour debut as a team with their first Challenge-level medal. They both had previous medals at the Futures level with different partners.

After five Futures medals together, Israel’s Eylon Elazar & Kevin Cuzmiciov celebrated their first Challenge podium as well by snatching the bronze in Bhubaneswar.

The Bhubaneswar Challenge 2026 men’s and women’s medalists (source: Achyuta Samanta)

In Sunday’s gold medal showdown, seventh-seeded Joppe Van Langendonck & Kyan Vercauteren heavily dominated the first set against bracket leaders Jakub Sepka & Matyas Dzavoronok and closed it off at a wide margin. The second set was much more competitive. The Belgians managed to open a gap as wide as four points at 18-14, but the Czechs caught up and pushed the set to overtime before Van Langendonck & Vercauteren could celebrate a 2-0 (21-10, 22-20) straight-set victory. 21-year-old Vercauteren mastered five kill blocks and three aces towards a match-high 18 points. 23-year-old Van Langendonck added 13 points, all in swings. Sepka and Dzavoronok finished with nine and eight points, respectively.

“I am feeling very good! This was our first Challenge final and we won it, so it feels really good!” Vercauteren said after the match.

“I am dead!” an exhausted Van Langendonck told the crowd. “Thank you! It has been a pleasure! Really amazing, fantastic atmosphere! It was perfect! I really felt at home here.”

The bronze medal match earlier was also resolved in straight sets, 2-0 (21-19, 21-8) the way of third-seeded Eylon Elazar & Kevin Cuzmiciov over 19^th-seeded Jacob Brinck & Nicolai Hovmann of Denmark. The first set was really competitive, with the gap never exceeding two points one way or another, but in the second, the Israelis established total control and prevailed by a wide margin. Elazar raised five kill blocks towards a match-high 19 points. 22-year-old Cuzmiciov fired three aces to chip in with a total of 12 points. Hovmann put away 11, while Brinck added eight.

The two men’s semifinals were also played earlier on the last competition day in Bhubaneswar. First, Sepka & Dzavoronok came back from a set down against Elazar & Cuzmiciov to mount a solid 2-1 (25-27, 21-12, 15-9) turnaround. Dzavoronok owned the net with eight stuffs and 16 spike kills, to which he added two aces to top the chart with 29 points. Also with two aces under his belt, Sepka finished with 15 points. Elazar led the Israeli duo with 27 points, including six blocks and two aces. Cuzmiciov signed off with 10 points, all in attack.

Van Langendonck & Vercauteren took out Brinck & Hovmann in straight sets, 2-0 (21-19, 21-17). Van Langendonck led the way with 18 points, including two aces. Vercauteren also delivered two serving points, in addition to three kill blocks and 11 successful swings. Hovmann raised five stuffs and finished with a team-high 15 points. Brinck scored nine times in attack.