Slovenia aiming high for home #EuroBeachVolleyU18 in Ljubljana

Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana is about to host the rising stars of European Beach Volleyball with the 2021 edition of #EuroBeachVolleyU18 starting on Wednesday, September 1 with the qualification round. The home teams are aiming high and hoping to finish on the podium.

Rok Bracko (right) competed earlier this summer at the FIVB World Tour 1-Star event held in Ljubljana as well

The Sports Park Ludus in Crnuce, which usually hosts the side courts at the annual FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1-Star event, will welcome young Beach Volleyball players in their quest for the title of U18 European champions. Although the outdoor season is slowly ending, the perspective players cannot wait to start the competition.

One of the main Slovenia’s aces will be Rok Bracko, who, together with Rok Moži?, claimed the gold medals from the U20 European Beach Volleyball Championship held in Izmir, Turkey, earlier this summer. The 17-year-old player also won silver at this year’s edition of the FIVB 1-Star tournament in Ljubljana together with Alan Košenina. This time, he will join forces with Luka Marovt, a reigning U17 European Volleyball champion. Miha Okron and Nejc Najdic, Marovt’s teammates from the U17 national team, will also compete in Ljubljana, as will Slovenia’s U18 reigning national champions Grega Okroglic and Primož Jeklin.

Three of the players who claimed gold at this year’s #EuroVolleyU17M will compete later this week in Ljubljana

In the women’s competition, Slovenia will field all of the medallists from the Beach Volleyball U18 national championship. Anja Puckmeister and Tija Šketa Rozman, Zoja Kalar and Rima Posedel, together with Živa Javornik and Ula Gorjup will try to deliver their best performance on home soil.

Slovenia’s head coach Tadej Boženk believes in the chances of his players:

“I think they are all well prepared and they have equal chances for good results. In each practice, they fight for every point and I see how they want to win and be a part of this event. I cannot wait for it to start on Thursday. I believe in the quality of our Beach Volleyball players and I could say that I would be a little disappointed if we did not win at least one medal. I wish that the fans in the stands would also support our young talents and help them achieve further success.”