Doha, Qatar. Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner continued their winning streak through the men’s final of the Katara Beach Volleyball Cup 4-star in Doha to crown their fairy tale with a happy end. The 14th-seeded Czechs won their first ever gold on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
The first set of the gold medal match was very competitive through 10-10, after which Perusic and Schweiner broke away on a four-point run and never looked back. Some efficient blocking by Schweiner helped them stay in the lead until Perusic hit the set winner. They opened up a wide lead early into the second set and seemed to be cruising comfortably to the victory. However, their Brazilian opponents, Evandro Goncalves and Gustavo Carvalhaes ‘Guto’ took advantage of some unforced errors to level it at 17-17. The Czechs, however, stayed intact and pushed forward to a 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) win.
“We were not expecting it and I cannot really describe the emotions and feelings that we currently have. I am extremely happy with our performance during the whole tournament, because finally it was not ups and downs. We had no downs, apart from my side-out in the second set of the final, and I am really happy with this,” Schweiner said holding the trophy.
“It was really hard, especially in the second set, when the victory is really close and real. I think for the whole tournament we were the underdogs and we had nothing to lose. So when you are leading 1-0 and, I do not remember, 16-10 or 16-9, it is really tough to control yourselves and focus on the side-out. I am really glad that we did it in the end and, despite the fact that the Brazilian guys came back strong, we were able to finish it. We are really looking forward to the three tournaments in Cancun and I hope we can continue with such good performances,” Perusic added.
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CEV – European Volleyball
FIVB – Volleyball World
CVF – Czech Volleyball Federation
