Home country Russia claimed the gold and bronze medal at the inaugural FIVB Beach Volleyball Anapa Open on Saturday.
Top seeded Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Khomyakova won the first Russian gold on home soil with a 2-0 (21-10 21-14) over Germany’s Teresa Mersmann and Isabel Schneider.
In the bronze medal match Maria Prokopeva and Svetlana Popova beat USA’s Heather Hughes and Kaitlin Sather Nielsen 2-0 (21-16 21-12).
In the men’s competition the final four were decided. Russia’s top seeded Konstantin Semenov and Yaroslav Koshkarev play Germany’s Finn Dittelbach and Eric Koreng.
Another Russian team, Alexey Pashtukov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov, meets Germany’s Lars Flüggen and Alexander Walkenhorst.
Germany prevents all-Russian women’s final in Anapa
Germany’s Teresa Mersmann and Isabel Schneider prevented an all-Russian women’s final at the inaugural FIVB Beach Volleyball Anapa Open. In their first ever semifinal the 23rd seeded defeated 6th seeded Russians Maria Prokopeva and Svetlana Popova 2-0 (21-19 21-19) on Saturday.
In the final they will meet Russia’s top seeded Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Khomyakova, who booked a tough 2-1 (21-23 21-19 15-6) against USA’s Heather Hughes and Kaitlin Sather Nielsen. More
Russia will host another event in a few weeks when the World Tour visits Moscow. The Grand Slam is held from August 21-25.
