Hosts the Netherlands and Russia will fight for the right to send a second women’s beach volleyball team to the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday after the two countries made it to the final day of the European Continental Cup Finals in The Hague.
Dutch and Russians on to Continental Cup final
The European Olympic ticket is between these two countries
Published 11:24, 25 Jun 2021
Dutch and Russians already have one spot guaranteed at the Games after Sanne Keizer/Madelein Meppelink and Nadezda Makroguzova/Svetlana Kholomina qualified via the Olympic rankings, but they will be aiming for a second one on Saturday afternoon when a series of matches involving two teams from each nation will determine the winners.
The first match will see Dutch two-time Olympian Marleen van Iersel and her partner Pleun Ypma play against reigning Youth Olympic champions Mariia Bocharova and Maria Voronina of Russia. Hosts Katja Stam and Raisa Schon will meet Russia’s Ksenia Dabizha and Daria Rudykh in the second one and if needed, a golden match will be played to pick the champions.
The Netherlands needed all three matches on Friday to secure their spot in the final as after van Iersel and Ypma beat Norway’s Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Ane Hjortland 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 17-15), Schon and Stam fell to Ingrid Lunde and Emilie Olimstad in two sets (20-22, 15-21). The 19-year-old Schon and the 22-year-old Stam were selected for the golden match and got their revenge, defeating Lunde and Olimstad 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 16-14) to move forward.
“This is the match that we have been dreaming of playing, it was really nice, what a great atmosphere,” Stam said at the end of the golden match. “In the first match, we didn’t play our game, so we tried to get some rest and to prepare better mentally to fight for each ball, and we did so from the start. Tomorrow, we hope to count again on the help of our supporters. They are like a third player on the court for us.”
Russia's four-player squad celebrate their progress in the tournament (Photo: CEV)
Russia, on the other hand, remained on their steady pace, winning both of their matches for a second-straight day. Dabizha and Rudykh handled Greece’s Eleni Baka and Maria Klepkou well in the first match to secure a 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) win and pave the way for qualification, which was confirmed by Bocharova and Voronina, who came from behind to upset three-time Olympian Vasiliki Arvaniti and Penny Karagkouni with a 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 15-10) victory.
“It would be a dream come true to win the Olympic ticket,” Dabizha explained. “It is my biggest aim and I hope we will achieve it together as a team.”
Australia, China, Japan and Thailand start well in Asia
In Asia, the first day of the Continental Cup Finals in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, qualified the hosts, Australia, China and Japan for the semifinals.
The only nation in the continent to make it to the final four in both genders, Australia were led by Olympians Nicole Laird and Becchara Palmer to secure a golden set victory against New Zealand. They will now face China, who have Beijing 2008 Olympic medallist and former world champion Chen Xue in their squad, and defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 despite having to forfeit a match due to injury.
China's Olympic medalists Chen Xue is trying to qualify for her third Olympics (Photo: AVC)
The other semifinal matchup will reunite Continental Cup Finals hosts Thailand and Olympic hosts Japan, who both had two-match victories against Indonesia and Vanuatu, respectively.
Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria in the semis in Africa
In Africa, the six-day Continental Cup Finals are approaching their end in Agadir, Morocco, and Friday’s quarterfinals round determined Morocco v Kenya and Egypt v Nigeria in the semifinals.
Hosts Morocco remain strong on their home court as they defeated Cape Verde in two matches to advance. Kenya pulled the biggest upset of the day, eliminating higher-ranked Mozambique in two matches.
Egyptian players celebrate a point in their hard-fought duel with Rwanda (Photo: CAVB)
Egypt, who have Rio 2016 Olympians Doaa Elghobashy and Nada Meawad in their squad, needed the golden match to eliminate Rwanda, while Nigeria, which features 2019 FIVB World Championship veterans Francisca Ikhiede and Tochukwu Nnorurga on their roster, took Gambia down also in three matches.
Puerto Rico and Guatemala to meet Cuba and Mexico
In Colima, Mexico, teams from Puerto Rico and Guatemala were the first to collect wins in the North, Central America and the Caribbean Continental Cup and advance to the semifinals, where they will play Cuba and hosts Mexico respectively.
The Puerto Ricans had a solid day and saw their teams win both matches against Nicaragua while Guatemala advanced on the back of their top team, Estefanie Bethancourt and Natalia Giron, who won their match and the golden set to push their country through.
Semifinals set in Assuncion
The South American Continental Cup started on Friday in Assuncion, Paraguay, with a single match played to determine the third and fourth-seeded countries in the tournament.
Rio 2016 Olympian Norisbeth Agudo and her partner Gabi Brito led Venezuela to a 2-0 (22-20, 21-14) victory over Paraguay’s Michelle Valiente and Erika Mongelos and are now set to face second-seeded Colombia in Saturday’s semifinals. The hosts will play against top-seeded Argentina.
