Poland beat Germany in final of Beach Volleyball Masters for the disabled

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FAVOURITES Poland extended their winning streak against archrivals Germany to emerge as the champions of the inaugural AmBank Malaysia Beach Volleyball Masters for the disabled at the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) outdoor courts in Section 19 recently.

The Polish trio of Piotr Moszczynski, Adam Stepien and Artur Wasowicz needed only two games to subdue their German opponents 21-18, 21-18 in an eagerly contested rematch for the championship.

In the earlier group match of the three-day meet, the German line-up comprising Robert Kampczyk, Martin Vogel and Torben Schiewe offered a stiffer resistance before allowing Poland to walk away with a hard-earned 26-28, 21-15, 15-7 win to top the group.

Poland team manager Tomosz Wozny admitted that they have been engaging in exciting matches against the Germany and it has always been tough to overcome the Germans in previous meetings including the Paralympic standing volleyball event.

In straight games: (From left) The Polish trio overcoming the German challengers 21-18, 21-18 in the final.

“Coming into this tournament in Malaysia, we have edged Germany twice in beach volleyball contest at their home ground. Our players survived the hot and humid tropical weather to chalk up another good outing here. They came to accomplish a specific aim and were very committed in producing winning performances. We are delighted to maintain our clean track record to three straight wins against them (Germany) thus far here. They have earned a well-deserved outing around Kuala Lumpur before heading home,” said Wozny, adding that they were hoping to attract other countries to join their beach volleyball tournament at Poland over the next summer period in August.

Poland’s Stepien was also one of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) recipients along with Aruna Priyankara of Sri Lanka and Schiewe of Germany.

Another visiting team Sri Lanka fielded three sides in the three-on-three contest.

Although Sri Lanka A remained undefeated to claim the top spot in their group, they ran out of steam and went down fighting 21-14, 14-21, 9-15 to Germany in the semi-finals.

In the playoff for third place, the top ranked side Sri Lanka A triumphed over their second entry Sri Lanka B 21-15, 22-20.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka C finished in fifth position defeating Kazakhstan 21-19, 21-14 in the classification match.

However, hosts Malaysia struggled to make an impact in the competition. They completed their campaign without a win over five matches.

Malaysia lost to Sri Lanka A (7-21, 6-21), Sri Lanka B (4-21, 11-21) and Kazakhstan (6-21, 11-21) in the preliminary stages followed by another two defeats against Sri Lanka C (8-21, 3-21) and Australia (8-21, 15-21) to finish at the bottom of the standings comprising a total of eight teams.

For the next season, the Asia Oceania Committee Volleyball for Disabled (AOCVD) are planning to line-up the four-leg international series scheduled to be held in Australia, Germany, Sri Lanka and Iran.