The impact of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment is expected to rise to the fore once again as 15 men’s and 12 women’s teams, supported by the programme, are in action in Mexico for the biennial FIVB World Beach Volleyball Championships, whose winners will not only be crowned world champions but will also get an early ticket to the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
A total of 48 men and 48 women teams will battle for honours in the 14th edition of the World Championships, hosted in Mexico for the first time in history and returning to Latin America for the first time in two decades.
The 27 Volleyball Empowerment teams are drawn from 12 countries. The Volleyball Empowerment-supported men’s teams include those from Canada, Chile, Czechia, Ecuador, France, Mexico, Netherlands, Thailand, and Ukraine. The women’s Volleyball Empowerment-supported teams are Chile, Czechia, Ecuador, France, Mexico, Netherlands, Lithuania, Spain and Paraguay. Some of the supported pairs have had significant successes across the beach volleyball season and will look to climb the podium at the prestigious World Championships.
In the men’s tournament, the highest ranked pair among Volleyball Empowerment teams, Dutchmen Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen (eighth in the world), are enjoying strong form after the bronze medals at last weekend’s Paris Elite 16 Beach Pro Tour. They are in Pool J alongside compatriots Matthew Immers and Steven van de Velde.
After teaming up with Leon Luini to win silver at the EuroBeachVolley 2023 in August, Yorick de Groot of the Netherlands will attempt to go one better on the world stage with Stefan Boermans.
Yorick de Groot (left) in action for Netherlands against Germany’s Nils Ehlers during the Paris Elite 16 Beach Pro Tour event
Czechia’s Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner have won two stops (Uberlandia and Paris) of the Elite 16 Beach Pro Tour this season and can reach the podium if they carry this form to the World Championships where they are placed in Pool I.
Miguel Sarabia and Juan Virgen, who are seeded 12th, will be Mexico’s best bet for a medal on home sand. South American champions and 14th seeds, the Grimalt cousins of Marco and Esteban from Chile headline Pool K.
Ukraine will bank their hopes on 28th seeds Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik who recently won bronze at the EuroBeachVolley 2023 in August.
In the women’s competition, the Dutch pair of Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon are seeded eighth. Having finished ninth at the Rome 2022 edition, Stam and Schoon are determined to reach the podium this year. They will draw encouragement from their gold medal performance in the opening Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 stop in Doha and bronze in the Paris leg earlier this month.
Spain’s Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno during the Beach Pro Tour event
Fresh from their silver medal performance at the EuroBeachVolley 2023 in August, Spain’s Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno will hope to put on a similar performance at the global level in their first appearance at the World Championships.
Mexico’s 12th seeds Atenas Angelica Gutierrez and Abril Cristina Flores will carry the hopes of the host nation for a medal on home sand.
The tournament is being held in the cities of Tlaxcala, Huamantla and Apizaco with a total of 216 matches set to be played over 10 days.
Source : fivb.com
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