Netherlands’ Leon Luini & Ruben Penninga finished runners-up and earned the silver, their best achievement on the Beach Pro Tour so far. It was their second medal on the Tour, after the 2022 Itapema Challenge bronze.
Philipp Waller & Timo Hammarberg of Austria picked up the bronze. It was their second Beach Pro Tour appearance as a team and they decorated it with their first podium. They had collected several podiums with different partners from Futures tournaments, but this was the first Challenge-level medal for either of them.
In Sunday’s gold medal showdown in Chennai, 19th-seeded Holting Nilsson & Andersson mastered a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) sweep. They trailed during the first halves of both sets against 14th-seeded Luini & Penninga, but were able to turn things around and get the job done in straight sets. In a relatively even match, it was the Dutchmen’s unforced errors that tilted the balance the Swedish teens’ way. Holting Nilsson put away four kill blocks and an ace towards a 17-point match high, while Andersson added another 13 points, all in attack. Luini was the best scorer on the Netherlands’ side of the net with 16 points, while Penninga also finished with 13.
“We are feeling really good! We definitely did not expect this when we sat on the plane to India, so it’s really nice,” said Andersson after the final.
“It’s amazing! I want to thank both of our coaches for all the training over the years,” Holting Nilsson added.
In the bronze medal game earlier on Sunday, third-seeded Waller & Hammarberg took their first lead at 7-6 in the first set and never looked back, working their way to a convincing 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) upset of top-seeded Thomas Hodges & Zachery Schubert of Australia. The Austrians dominated mainly in offence, with 20-year-old Hammarberg leading the way with 14 spike kills, in addition to four kill blocks and an ace, towards a 19-point match high. Waller added another 12 points, while Hodges led Australia with 15.
Men’s action in Chennai on Sunday morning opened with a three-set semifinal between Holting Nilsson & Andersson and Waller & Hammarberg. After dropping the first set in the overtime, the Swedish youngsters mounted a furious 2-1 (26-28, 21-13, 15-7) comeback to advance to the final. While the Austrians helped with far too many unforced errors, Holting Nilsson raised a stunning eight kill blocks towards a 23-point tally. Hammarberg topped that with a 28-point match high.
The hard-fought next semifinal was resolved in two sets. In the overtime of the second, Luini & Penninga were able to close the match at 2-0 (21-18, 22-20), shutting out the Paris 2024 Olympians from Australia. Hodges topped the charts with 17 points, while Penninga led the winners with 15, including five kill blocks.
