Ludvig S\u00f8dal Ring\u00f8en-Sebastian Lyngaas Kjemperud are the Under 18 boys’ World Beach Volleyball Champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Norwegian pair won the boy\u2019s final in Doha, Qatar after a hard-fought straight sets win over Germany\u2019s Jonathan Bungert-Filo W\u00fcst. Italy\u2019s Riccardo Santomassimo & Marco Di Felice also beat T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Bar\u0131\u015f G\u00fcldali & Polat Kemal Eser by a similar margin to claim the bronze medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the first ever gold medal for Norway in the history of this age-group competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
USA retained the girls’ title with the pair of Jordyn Scribner-Ella Grimes beating the Junk twin sisters, Avery-Addison in straight sets in an all-American final<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the boys final Ring\u00f8en-Kjemperud outlasted Bungert-W\u00fcst in a thrilling encounter that was decided by fine margins with the Norwegians running out 2-0 (25-23, 21-19) winners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their gold medal triumph was achieved via an 8-1 win-loss record that also included two matches in the qualification phase and a 2-0 (22-20, 21-17) sweep of Italy\u2019s Riccardo Santomassimo-Marco Di Felice in the semifinals played earlier on Saturday. Their only defeat was in the pool phase where they were beaten 2-0 (12-21, 16-21) by the same German team of Bungert-W\u00fcst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe tried to enjoy ourselves today and seize our moments. They are two good players so we had to produce our A-game to stop them. It was all about our attitude on court, to keep on working and showing that we really want to win no matter how bad the scoreline is,\u201d said Kjemperud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing journey together with a lot of development. Losing to Germany in the quarterfinals of the European Championship and also in the pool here was devastating but we fought through. We kept together and with the help of our coach we were able to take the grip around the gold medal match today. We are really happy about that and it\u2019s an amazing feeling to stand on top of the podium,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bungert-W\u00fcst had reached the final on a six-match winning streak but Ring\u00f8en-Kjemperud turned tables on them when it mattered most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know each other very well and are even friends off the court. We\u2019ve beaten them twice this year and now in the World Championship final we\u2019ve lost. It\u2019s a close loss so it hurts. We had a good tournament but we didn\u2019t use the chances we got in the final. The Norwegian guys played a really good game and deserved to win,\u201d said Bungert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the beginning of the season, we didn\u2019t think we would play in two finals (European Championship and World Championship) so we are satisfied with what we\u2019ve achieved. I\u2019m happy with the whole season,\u201d added W\u00fcst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Italy\u2019s Riccardo Santomassimo-Marco Di Felice capped their impressive run at the World Championship with a bronze medal following a straight sets win over T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Bar\u0131\u015f G\u00fcldali-Polat Kemal Eser in the third-place playoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Italians\u2019 five match unbeaten run was halted in the semifinals after losing in straight sets (15-21, 15-21) to Germany\u2019s Jonathan Bungert-Filo W\u00fcst earlier on Saturday. However, Santomassimo-Di Felice turned on class in the bronze medal match to cruise past T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Bar\u0131\u015f G-Polat Kemal Eser by 2-0 (21-12, 21-14) and end their fairytale run from the qualification phase to the medal bracket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had planned to focus on our game and not the opponent. It paid off because we were in full control from the beginning. We are so happy to get the bronze medal in our first World Championship. We have trained so hard in the summer and getting two bronze medals is a big achievement for us,\u201d said Marco in reference to the bronze medal they had won at this year\u2019s European Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n