Poland beach volleyball team finished first at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in Kish Island by defeating Latvia in the finals on Saturday.
Latvia’s Martins Plavins/Edgars Tocs pair sought their second straight gold medal while Poland’s Mariusz Prudel/Jakub Szalankiewicz were aiming for their first title after winning the semifinals at the Kish Marine Recreation Sports Complex on Saturday.
According to the website of the games, Worldtour.2018.fivb.com, Polish volleyballers had a better performance to win their first title of the games by defeating the world champion rival.
The Latvian pair was unbeaten in the tournament and was seeking to establish a record as the first men’s team to win back-to-back gold medals in their first two FIVB World Tour events; however, Poland blocked their way to make history.
Prudel/Szalankiewicz’s gold medal completed Poland’s medal haul in the Persian Gulf island, where Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak previously won bronze and silver in the 2016 and 2017 editions, respectively.
“We are very happy that we finished a step higher than last year,” Prudel said. “Poland has a winning tradition in Kish Island, where we finished with a medal in each tournament. We hope it will be the same again next year.”
Prudel/Szalankiewicz managed to get the good breaks to win the opening set 21-18, but Plavins/Tocs persistently challenged them down to the final points in the second set. The Latvians saved four match points before Plavins’ net touched sealed Prudel/Szalakiewicz’s straight-set win 24-22.
“We are really happy and satisfied because we played a very good game against a very good team,” Prudel said. “That match with Plavins/Tocs was a spectacle. It was tough but it had a very nice level.”
“This is my first time here and I like the tournament,” said Szalankiewicz, who competed in his first-ever FIVB World Tour title match. “Last year, I had a problem because my partner had an injury, but fortunately this year is good. I am very happy that we won all our matches here.”
Earlier, Germany’s Alexander Walkenhorst/Sven Winter bagged the bronze after they recorded a 2-0 (21-18, 21-11) win over Austria’s Julian Horl/Tobias Winter.
The winners of first to third places were awarded with prize money. The prize for the first team was $11,000 and the second team received $8,000 while the third team received $6,000.
Domestic teams could not find their way to the finals. The tournament was held on the tourist island off Iran’s Hormozgan Province from Feb. 19 to 24.
