The Norwegians Mol & Sorum are the new Olympic champions!
Recap
The Olympics Beach Volleyball has its new kings!
Anders Mol and Christian Sorum (NOR) made their Olympic dream come true, after beating at 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) the reigning world champions of ROC, Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy.
Grabbing the gold at Tokyo 2020 is a historic achievement not only for Mol and Sorum, but for the whole Norwegian Volleyball as well, as this is the first medal ever for the country in this discipline.
Krasilnikov&Stoyanovskiy go home with the silver, which is also a first-time medal for ROC's Beach Volleyball.
Earlier on that day, the Latvians Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs lost to the Qataris Cherif/Ahmed at 0-2 (12-20, 18-21) in the Bronze medal match.
Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy (ROC) stormed to a 5-1 lead in the beginning of the Gold Medal match. Even though they tried to keep the difference (8-4), Anders Mol took things into control, shining on block and acing two times to secure his team’s coming back at 10-8. The Norwegians opened the match in their favour facing no further problems in the set. It was a cat-and-mouse game in the second one, with Oleg Stoyanovskiy keeping the intrigue alive after recording some monster blocks. However, the Beachvolley Vikings quickly found a way to stop him, and while Mol showed again power on the net, it was Christian Sorum that amazed with some spectacular defence and ofence afterwards. A serve error by Stoyanovskiy put the end of the discussion in the match.
Statistically, both teams performed rather equally on attack (24 points by the winners compared to 25 by ROC’s representatives) and on the serve (three by Mol/Sorym to two by Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy). The better performance on the block (five to two) was one of the keys to the success for the Norwegians. Mol and Sorum were also able to score more on their opponents’ errors (10 to six).
Christian Sorum (NOR)“We know this team very well. They served strong in the beginning, they actually always do. But we knew that if we found a rhythm with our side out, we would get some points in the block. It was just an amazing feeling to play at this high level in the Olympic final.”
Anders Mol (NOR)“It has been a long journey, and our parents and families are very proud of us right now.”
Oleg Stoyanovskiy (ROC)“We are in history, we are happy! We played in the first Olympic final in the history of our country.”
The Latvian duo, Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs couldn’t stop the No.1 ranked team in the world, Cherif/Ahmed (QAT). The Qataris claimed a 2-0 win (21-12, 21-18) to also bring the first medal on sand for their country. Plavins, London 2012 bronze medalist, couldn’t repeat the success from nine years ago.
It was a close call in the beginning of the first set (8-8), but Cherif and Ahmed then recorded eight points in a row (while the Latvians could respond with only one). Plavins and Tocs weren’t able to come back in the set, but then stood much better in the beginning of the next one. However, Ahmed and Cherif recorded some important points to claim the leadership at 17-15. Delivering better performance on the block (seven to two) and on the serve (three to zero), the Qataris went home with the bronze medals.