Double joy for Germany in Hague

Germany clinched both the men’s an women’s title at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U18 World Championships in the Hague.

Germany’s Lasse Huper-Filo Wust completed a fantastic run from Wednesday’s first qualification round all the way to the top of Sunday’s men’s podium in the men’s competition.They won all 10 of their matches in the Netherlands, dropping sets in only two of them, to triumph as U18 world champions. It was the second medal for Filo Wust, after he took silver at last year’s edition in Qatar.

Ryan Edgar-Thomas Turner settled for silver, Australia’s first-ever medal in the history of the competition.

France’s Adrien Bezu-Quentin Hypolyte completed almost a similar feat to that of the Germans, cruising from the first round of qualifiers to the podium. After their winning streak was interrupted by Huper-Wust in the semifinals, the French team settled for bronze.

The first set of Sunday’s gold medal match was quite competitive until 17-17, but in the money time, Huper-Wust stayed more concentrated in their game and scored four in a row to take the set. With the momentum on their side, they stormed the second set on a 3-0 run and never looked back.

Edgar-Turner tried fighting back during the second half of the set, but in the end, it was the Germans who were more focused on the victory. With a well-placed curve shot, Wust brought in match point. A rally later, he converted it to a 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) win with a precision cut shot, which delivered Germany’s fourth world title and overall eighth medal in the history of the youth boys’ world championships.

“I am stunned! I don’t know what to say. We are just very happy we won,” Lasse Huper told the FIVB right after the end of the final. “It was a tough game! In the end everyone was so tired and it was the people that wanted it more and left their hearts on the court that were going to win.”

“Last year I got second in a pretty close game, which I was very sad that we lost. Obviously, now I am very pleased to finish first and now I think I’ve got everything I want in U18,” Filo Wust added.

In the bronze medal match, Adrien Bezu-Quentin Hypolyte mastered a 2-0 (21-15, 21-17) victory over Poland’s Alan Robak-Igor Gliszczynski, who entered the championship men’s main draw as “lucky losers” from the qualifications and finished in fourth place. This way, the French pair collected their country’s third medal in the history of the tournament.

A dramatic saga unfolded in the first men’s semifinal earlier on Sunday. Robak-Gliszczynski and Edgar-Turner traded the first two sets. At 13-9 in the tie-breaker, the Poles were well in control of the scoreboard, but then they missed a double match point to let the Australians catch up and push it to overtime.

More match points were denied on both sides until finally Edgar-Turner closed the match at 2-1 (14-21, 21-17, 19-17). In the second semifinal, Huper-Wust mounted a solid comeback from a set down against Bezu-Hypolyte storming into the final with a 2-1 (16-21, 21-15, 15-7) victory.

Anna-Chiara Reformat-Sandra Otte triumph

Germany’s Anna-Chiara Reformat-Sandra Otte completed their victorious march through the women’s competition on top of the podium. After a streak of seven wins in a row and only a single set dropped along the way, the fourth-seeded Germans triumphed as U18 world champions.

They brought Germany the country’s fourth title and overall 11th medal in the women’s tournament’s history. A German team, however, has not been on the podium since 2014.

Leticia Schwalb Machado and 16-year-old Kiara Vitoria Ernesto Jeronimo claimed silver, Brazil’s seventh medal in the competition and first since Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda)-Victoria Tosta topped the podium in 2016.

Dutch home favorites Jara Both & Matilda de Groot capitalized on the home-sand advantage to snatch the bronze and represent the Netherlands on the podium.

In the gold medal match on Sunday afternoon, Reformat-Otte produced a hard-fought 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) victory over Leticia-Kiara. For the most part of the first set, the Germans maintained a small lead. Eventually, Otte brought in set point with a block-out shot and converted it with a one-handed kill block.

Reformat-Otte opened a sizeable gap before their 10th point in the second set and maintained it almost through the end, when the Brazilians rallied to get back to within one at 19-18. Staying attentive at the net, Otte scored the next two points with clever off-system tips that found the empty spots on the Brazilian side of the court.

“I am so happy! I am so proud of us! I have no words – I am so, so happy!” an elated Reformat told the FIVB after the final.

“I can’t really believe that this happened. I am so happy and so proud!” Otte echoed. “I was really nervous before the game, but I think we managed it very well. There was big pressure, but we did it!”

Both-De Groot delighted the Dutch fans with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-13) sweep of the third-place match against China’s Qi Siyu-Zhuang Ming that earned them the bronze. It was the first World Championship medal for them, after Both stopped just short of the podium in Qatar last year, where she and Esmee Radstake finished in fourth place. It was also the fourth medal for the Netherlands in the history of the competition, and first since 2008.

The semifinals of the U18 World Championship were played earlier on Sunday morning. In the first one, Leticia-Kiara disappointed the home crowd in the center court stands with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) shutout of Both-De Groot. Then, Reformat-Otte and Qi-Zhuang engaged in a three-set battle, which ended 2-1 (21-16, 15-21, 15-8) the Germans’ way.