Latvian championship stage in beach volleyball. Game for the 1st place / Article / LSM.lv

In the third stage of the Latvian beach volleyball championship, two of the highest teams will meet in Saulkrasti on Saturday – Mārtiņš Pļaviņš / Edgars Točs and Aleksandrs Samoilovs / Jānis Šmēdiņš. The final game can be seen live on LTV7 and replay.lv.

In the game for the 3rd place, Aleksandrs Solovejs / Mihails Samoilovs dealt with their own mistakes and secured 2: 1 (18:21, 21:19, 15: 9) over the Estonian duo Dmitry Korotkov / Timo Lehmus, who started the tournament in qualifying, but in the bronze final with selflessness and intransigence earned the recognition of the audience.

Interview with Alexander Solovei / Mikhail Samoilov after the bronze final

After a difficult game for the 3rd place, Mikhail Samoilov admitted in an interview on Latvian Television that the duo played poorly in the first set, but then was able to receive and turn everything for the better. Solovay, on the other hand, added that it was difficult to play soon after the lost semi-final, because it took strength to get emotional. In the final, both beach volleyball players had their own favorites – Mikhail wanted to see his brother Alexander in honor of the winner, while Solovej sympathized with his friends Pļaviņš and Točs.

Aleksandrs Samoilovs / Jānis Šmēdiņš defeated Aleksandrs Solovejs / Mikhail Samoilovs in the fight for the final with 2: 1 (19:21, 21:15, 15:10). Point-to-point play took place in the first set, at the end of which after 18:18 Solovejs played the coldest with the youngest Samoilov. In the middle of the second set, Samoilovs / Šmēdiņš arranged his cooperation and beat the opponents very convincingly. In the decisive third set, Samoilov / Šmēdiņš acted more emotionally, gaining a 9: 5 advantage and leaving no chance for the opponents to escape.

Interview with Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Jānis Šmēdiņš after entering the final

After the semi-finals, Aleksandrs Samoilovs told Latvian Television in an interview that the third set was quite convincing, but in the first set the duo had an uncharacteristic number of mistakes. He thanked Alexander Solovei, whose speaking in the first set helped to set the mood for the fight. In turn, Šmēdiņš explained that before the start of the final you will have to get used to artificial lighting, and added that in the final, worthy competitors will meet.

In the first semi-final, Mārtiņš Pļaviņš / Edgars Točs defeated Estonia over Dmitrijs Korotkovs / Timo Lehmus with 2: 0 (21: 9, 21:16) without any difficulties.

Interview with Mārtiņš Pļaviņš after entering the final

After entering the final, Pļaviņš was happy that the weather had improved and “winter clothes were no longer needed”. In an interview with Latvian Television, the player emphasized that he could not afford to lose in the fight for the final, because he had already experienced unexpected failures in the previous season. Pļaviņš added that for both of them, the first game against Latvians will be only in the final, because previously in the tournament they played only against foreigners.

Previously in the quarter-finals, the main favorites Mārtiņš Pļaviņš / Edgars Točs defeated Audri Knašu / Patriks Stankevičs 2: 0 (24:22, 21:16), the winners of the previous two stages Aleksandrs Samoilovs / Jānis Šmēdiņš with 2: 0 (21:12, 21:14) ) were superior to another Lithuanian duo Roberts Juhņevičs / Arturs Vasiljevs, while Aleksandrs Solovejs / Mihails Samoilovs defeated Rinalds Ašpurs / Marc Jirgensons with 2: 0 (21:17, 21:17). Dmitrijs Korotkovs / Timo Lehmus also won the place in the semi-finals, having beaten the specially invited Finns Peku Pīpo / Piri Topio with 2: 0 (24:22, 22:20).

In the traditional tournament “Saulkrasti cocktail” only men’s teams play.

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