Leuven Futures podiums loaded with FIVB-supported pairs

Four of the six medals at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Leuven Futures last week, including all three in the men’s department, went to teams benefiting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support projects. Pairs from Switzerland earned the men’s gold and bronze medals, while duos from the Netherlands claimed the silvers in both the men’s and the women’s tournaments.

With annual assistance of CHF 72,000 for coach support from Volleyball Empowerment, Polish specialist Lukasz Fijalek has been integrated into the coaching team of Swiss Volley’s men's programme since November. Two of the teams under his guidance secured podium spots in Leuven.

By winning the tournament in Belgium, Immanuel Zurcher and Jonathan Jordan collected their first-ever Beach Pro Tour medal. They made an impeccable run of five straight-set victories and picked up the gold without dropping a single set along the way.

Seeded sixth in the men’s main draw, 22-year-old-Zurcher and 23-year-old Jordan swept Pool C after a 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) win against Germany’s Maximilian Just and Lui Wust and a 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) win against three-time Olympian and London 2012 bronze medallist Martins Plavins and his current partner Mihails Samoilovs of Latvia. Another Latvian Olympian from Tokyo 2020, Edgars Tocs, and his teammate Olivers Bulgacs got in the Swiss duo’s way in the quarterfinals only to concede a 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) defeat.

In the semifinals, Zurcher and Jordan went past top-seeded Belgians Louis Vandecaveye and Gilles Vandecaveye with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) win, before celebrating the gold with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) victory over fifth-seeded Mees Sengers and Dirk Boehle of the Netherlands.

Second-seeded Adrian Heidrich and Leo Dillier mastered three wins on the way to the semifinals: 2-0 (21-14, 21-11) over Dutch qualifiers Erik Nijland and Yannick Verberne, 2-1 (21-16, 15-21, 15-10) over German qualifiers Benedikt Sagstetter and Jonas Sagstetter, and 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) over Plavins and Samoilovs. After suffering a 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 15-11) upset at the hands of Sengers and Boehle, 28-year-old Heidrich, also a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, and 22-year-old Dillier bounced back with a 2-1 (11-21, 21-16, 15-7) victory over Vandecaveye and Vandecaveye to get the bronze, their first Beach Pro Tour medal as a pair.

The Netherlands benefit from annual Volleyball Empowerment assistance of CHF 72,000 for coach support in each gender. Under the guidance of coach Michiel van der Kuip, the men’s pairing of 30-year-old Boehle and 19-year-old Sengers achieved four back-to-back wins on the way to the Leuven final. Their semifinal victory over Heidrich and Dillier crowned a winning streak, which went through straight-set victories over Australia’s Soloman Bushby and James Takken 2-0 (21-19, 21-16), over Argentina’s Bautista Amieva and Leo Aveiro 2-0 (21-19, 21-16), and over another Argentinean duo, Julian Azaad and Maciel Bueno, 2-0 (21-19, 21-19), and secured the team’s first Beach Pro Tour podium, with a silver medal.

The men’s podium in Leuven (Photo credits: cev.eu)

In the ladies’ tournament, Wies Bekhuis and Kirsten Broring of the Netherlands, coached by Nina te Lintel Hekkert, made their Beach Pro Tour debut as a team. They started from the qualification bracket and made it all the way to the final, celebrating the silver medals. While it was the first podium for 23-year-old Broring, 21-year-old Bekhuis had already collected three Beach Pro Tour medals with different partners.

The Dutch pair knocked out France’s Anouk Dupin and Ophelie Lusson in their only qualification match on Thursday, 2-0 (26-24, 21-17). Seeded ninth in the main draw, they started pool play with a 2-1 (21-17, 13-21, 15-8) win over Switzerland’s Muriel Bossart and Shana Zobrist, but lost the Pool A final to Belgium’s Britt Ruysschaert and Els Vandesteene 2-1 (21-18, 21-23, 15-6) to take the long road to the podium.

In the eighthfinals, Bekhuis and Broring mastered a 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) win over Japan’s Harumi Sakai and Miharu Kashihara. In the quarterfinals, they achieved a 2-1 (21-10, 18-21, 15-13) victory over Australia’s Georgia Johnson and Tara Phillips, and in the semifinals, they delivered a convincing 2-0 (21-14, 21-14) straight-setter against another Swiss team, Leona Kernen and Annique Niederhauser. The Dutch stopped short of claiming the gold after being downed by China’s Zeng Jinjin and Lin MeiMei in a 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) sweep of the final (pictured in the main photo, credits: cev.eu).

To win their first Beach Pro Tour medal together, Zeng and Lin dropped only a set within the five matches played in Leuven to triumph on top of the podium. The bronze went to Switzerland’s Menia Bentele and Anna Lutz. It was the duo’s second medal on the Tour, after the Messina Futures bronze earlier this month.

The women’s podium in Leuven (Photo credits: cev.eu)

A total of 52 teams representing 22 different countries from four of the five continental confederations took part in the Leuven Futures.

Beach Pro Tour 2023 full event schedule