Youngsters spring surprise at Armenian national championships

The 2022 edition of the Armenian Beach Volleyball Championships took place this past weekend at the ‘Grand Sport’ complex in the country’s capital, Yerevan, with participation of six men’s and nine women’s teams.

The competition started with a group phase, with the top four teams eventually reaching the semi-finals. The eventual winners of the women’s tournament, Meri Poghosyan and Diana Melkumyan, representing Team Avan from Yerevan, managed to edge all of their rivals. The second place went to Team Van, which recorded a series of victories and one loss only (1-2) to the gold medallists. Team Yerevan BSU defeated Team Sisian to claim third place.

The men’s competition was even more hard-fought, with a series of close and dramatic matches providing an extra level of entertainment for the fans in attendance. Team Gyumri beat Fima-3 in straight sets to secure the bronze medals. The experienced Ashot Balabekyan and Yuri Grigoryan (aka Team Fima-1) surprisingly lost the men’s final to an U20 team comprising of Khachatur Asmaryan (CSKA) and Vahe Nazaryan (KhMOMM). The youngsters lost the first set 19-21, but they responded well and rose to the challenge to claim the second and third (21-15, 15-6) and crown themselves the new Armenian national champions.

The organisers explain the relatively low number of teams in the men’s competition – six only – with the decision of players representing CSKA and KhMOMM to join forces in order to compose the best possible duo – and to support their preparations for this year’s #EuroBeachVolleyU20, which is due to take place from July 14 to 17 in Izmir, Turkey.

Members of the Volleyball Federation of Armenia (VFA) Board of Administration, Mr Razmik Sultanyan, Mr Albert Karapetyan, and Ms Karine Serobyan, as well as the Honoured Coach of the Republic of Armenia, Mr Robert Janibekyan and the Director of Arena Sport Artur Minasyan all attended the medal ceremony.