Challenge - Bhubaneswar, IND - 2026

Durish & Koenig go all the way - top Bhubaneswar Challenge podium!

Japan’s Shiba & Reika and USA’s Hughes & Batenhorst complete the podium

Published 01:45, 08 Mar 2026

USA’s Alexis Durish & Audrey Koenig smiling in Bhubaneswar (source: Achyuta Samanta)

Alexis Durish & Audrey Koenig of the United States of America went all the way to the top of the women’s podium at the Bhubaneswar Challenge in India, bagging their third Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour medal in three appearances, but their first one in the Challenge category. Last year, the American pair picked up gold at the Geneva Futures and bronze at the Montpellier Futures.

Second-seeded Asami Shiba & Reika Murakami of Japan settled for silver, their first Beach Pro Tour medal as a pair. Previously, both of them had podium finishes with different partners.

Bracket leaders Sara Hughes & Allysa Batenhorst of USA claimed bronze at their second appearance on the Tour as a team.

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

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

In Sunday’s gold medal final, ninth-seeded Alexis Durish & Audrey Koenig dominated on the court through most of the game and triumphed with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) upset of Asami Shiba & Reika Murakami. In the middle of the first set, the Japanese team made a seven-point run and took a momentary 13-11 lead, only to quickly drop it after the Americans reacted with four points in a row. 22-year-old Koenig was the best scorer of the match. She contributed two kill blocks, one serving ace and 18 successful swings towards a match-high 21 points. 21-year-old Durish added another 10 points, including an ace. Reika also put away an ace and finished with 18 points, while Shiba signed off with eight, including a block.

Shiba/Reika vs. Durish/Koenig - Match Highlight - Women’s BPT Challenge Bhubaneswar 2026

“I am feeling amazing! It is really surreal and it has been awesome to play in such a cool environment. There are so many people watching! So, I am just truly honored to be her,” a thrilled Audrey Koenig said after the gold medal showdown. “We were super lucky to get here on Holi, so we got to celebrate with the colors and everything…”

“It has been a great tournament! USA has been amazing, our teams have done amazing, we’ve had a great staff with us, and it has been awesome!” an elated Alexis Durish added.

The all-American third place match was played earlier on Sunday. 2023 world champion Sara Hughes and her current partner Allysa Batenhorst made the podium with a hard-fought 2-1 (19-21, 21-15, 15-12) comeback against compatriots Natalie Myszkowski & Carly Kan, seeded 13^th. The top seeds maintained a slight lead through most of the first set, but in the money time, Myszkowski & Kan managed to flip the score and take the lead in the match. After a one-sided second set, Hughes & Batenhorst leveled up to prompt a tie-breaker. In the third set, Myszkowski & Kan broke away with a 7-4 lead, before Hughes & Batenhorst regained control and nicely built on to a comfortable win. 23-year-old indoor-to-beach convert Batenhorst put up six kill blocks and led her team with a total of 25 points before celebrating her first-ever Beach Pro Tour medal. Hughes impressed with five aces and finished with 13 points. Kan was the top scorer of the match with 27 points, while Myszkowski added another 13.