Latvia's Pastars/Lasmanis open European U18 beach volleyball championship with a win, Krieva/Zaķīte stumble in opener
Latvia's young beach volleyball players began the European U18 Championship in Izmir, Turkey on Thursday, with Ernests Pastars and Renārs Lasmanis winning their first match while Paula Krieva and Estere Zaķīte recovered from an opening loss to win their second.
Latvia's young beach volleyball players began competing in the CEV European U18 Championship on Thursday, held through the end of the week in the Turkish city of Izmir.
Men's tournament
Seeded sixth, the duo of Ernests Pastars and Renārs Lasmanis opened with a straight-sets win over home pair Ismail Kilinç and Melih Mangrici, taking the match 21:17, 21:11 and moving a step closer to the knockout stage. On Friday the Latvians face two more matches — against Croatia's Šimun Lozančić and Viktor Vidović, and against Finland's Martti Talvitie and Julius Uusitalo. The Finnish pair has already beaten the Croatians in three sets, 24:22, 19:21, 15:9. Group winners advance directly to the round of 16, while second- and third-placed teams move into the first round of the knockout bracket.
Women's tournament
The women's tournament follows the same format, where Paula Krieva and Estere Zaķīte are seeded tenth. The Latvians began the championship with a loss, falling 14:21, 17:21 to Spain's Sinemis Aslan and Ushue Quadrado, who reached the tournament through qualification. In their second match, however, Krieva and Zaķīte bounced back, defeating Serbia's Andrijana Djurov and Nadja Milič 21:16, 21:17 to keep their hopes alive in Group G. On Friday the Latvians will face France's seventh-seeded pair, Izia Delporte and Malo Mira, who beat both the Serbian and Spanish duos on Thursday.
