European young talent to compete in Kachreti this week
U18 EuroBeachVolley
The Georgian city of Kachreti is set to welcome the future stars of European beach volleyball as the 2024 CEV U18 EuroBeachVolley will be held there, at the Ambassadori Kachreti Golf Resort, from Wednesday to Sunday.
As many as 34 European nations will be represented in the tournament – Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and Ukraine.
The first day of action will be reserved for the qualifiers on both genders, which will have two spots in the main draw in play. Four teams will compete on the women’s side – Romania’s Maria Baciu/Ioana-Cristiana Murgoci, Azerbaijan’s Sabina Alizada/Lizi Latsabidze, Faroe Islands’ Osla Johannesen/Maria Vitalis and Armenia’s Milena Tonoyan/Elizaveta Tonoyan.
Among the men, it will be three teams fighting for two spots – Faroe Islands’ Hákun Nón/Rani Ákason, Andorra’s Limay Tagliaferro/Christian Ribeiro and Armenia’s Alen Aleksanyan/Firdusi Kesoyan.
Austrians Lia Berger and Lilli Hohenauer, who took silver in the last two editions of the U18 EuroBeachVolley, are among the favorites to step at the top of the podium when the tournament comes to an end on Sunday.
Robert Nowotny“Lilli and Lia are the number one team in the U18 European Ranking. They have achieved a great level over these past few years and should be in good form again. Our expectations are in line with that.”
Austrian national team head coach
Greek Eleni Alexoglou and Myrto Paschalaki, who at 14 and 16 respectively will be on the youngest teams on the field, will be another attraction in the tournament.
Among the men, Dutch Tom Sonneville, 16, and Bram van Der Wel, 17, bring the best result from last year – they finished fourth in Madrid. French Kéran Duval, who played in two Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour events this season, and partner Ylan Louis will also shoot for a medal this week in Kachreti.
After Wednesday’s qualifier, the main draws on both genders will be set, with 32 teams confirmed. The tournament continues with pool play, having the duos split into eight groups of four. The top team in each pool will advance directly to the Round of 16, with the second and third-placed sides going to the Round of 24. The medal matches will be played on Sunday.