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BEACH PRO TOUR GOLD FOR NORWAY AND BRAZIL IN CAPE TOWN

Writer's picture: Sports Image PlusSports Image Plus

Anders Mol and Christian Sørum take their third Elite 16 gold of the season while Talita Antunes and Thamela Coradello win their first in the shadow of Table Mountain


Olympic and world Champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum made it back-to-back Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 titles as they followed up their win in Paris in September with gold in Cape Town on Sunday.


In the women’s event, it was a first Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 title for Brazil’s Talita Antunes and Thamela Coradello in what was their first event on the beach together.


Nordic rivals get revenge

The Norwegian pairing made it three Elite 16 level wins this season thanks to a straight sets (21-19, 21-19) win over Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig.


The two sides last met in the final of the European Championship that saw the Swedes prevail but despite Ahman and Hellvig’s best efforts, Mol and Sorum were too strong.


The title in South Africa, which was earned with six wins and no sets dropped, adds something new to Mol and Sørum’s career as, after topping the podium in tournaments held in Europe, Asia, North and South America, they now have a title in Africa too.


“Cape Town is amazing,” Sørum said. “We’ve come here on vacation last year and got to see the city, it’s really beautiful. We hope to be back here next year and meet all these incredible fans that were here supporting us this time.”


“That was intense, it was one of our best matches this year,” Mol added. “Sweden are such a young and talented team and it’s really annoying to play against them – they’re annoyingly good. We’re looking forward to having other great battles with them in the future.”


Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists Cherif and Ahmed filled the last spot on the podium after they triumphed over Austrians Robin Seidl and Philipp Waller in the two-set (22-20, 21-14) bronze medal match. It was the fourth Beach Pro Tour medal for the Qataris this season – they took gold in the Rosarito Elite 16 and the Maldives Challenge and silver in the Jurmala Elite 16.


Brazilians hit the ground running

Only three training sessions together were enough to set Antunes and Coradello up for their first victory as partners.


The new duo from Brazil completed a fantastic first tournament as partners with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-16) victory over Americans Sarah Sponcil and Terese Cannon in the gold medal match at the Grand Parade.

Fellow Brazilians and world champions Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa and Ana Patricia Ramos also made it to the podium as they finished third.


The 40-year-old Talita and the 22-year-old Thamela developed immediate chemistry and used their split-blocking strategy to thrive in South Africa. The two dropped only one of their six matches in Cape Town to win the tournament.


“I want to thank the fans that came to support us, Talita and Renato (França), our coach, and our entire team,” Thamela said after the gold medal match. “I wouldn’t be here without my family either – they’ve supported me the entire time. I lost a dear friend last week and wanted to offer this victory to him.”


Talita added: “I’m so happy to be here,” she reacted. “I have no words. I’ve played in a lot of finals, but this one is special as it’s my first time with Thamela. She is young, but she played so well this week and was an excellent partner, supporting me the entire time. These last few days weren’t easy, but when you work hard, you can accomplish your goals.”


Next stop Brazil

Brazil is the next destination at the top level of the Beach Pro Tour as Uberlandia hosts an Elite 16 event next week.


The hosts will be well represented at the tournament which runs 9-13 November. Ten teams from the South American nation (six women’s and four men’s) will feature among the 24 teams that will start the tournament directly in the main draw. An additional five duos (three women’s and two men’s) will compete in the qualifiers.


It will be the first time that the city of Uberlandia, located just over 400 kms south of the country’s capital Brasilia, hosts an international beach volleyball event, after staging the South American Tour Finals back in May. Brazil, however, has already welcomed a Beach Pro Tour event this year, with Itapema welcoming a Challenge tournament back in April.


Information and photo source : International Volleyball Federation

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