Wurtzl/Fruhbauer, Dabizha/Mastikova Triumph in Wet Langkawi

          The Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball World Tour -- Langkawi Open 2018 came to a conclusion on a very wet day at centre court in Langkawi's Pantai Cenang on Sunday.

          Austrians Simon Fruhbauer/Jorg Wutzl (AUT) made it a memorable weekend when they emerged as the tournament's gold-medalists after defeating the Russians, Petr Bakhnar/Taras Myskiv (RUS) in a three-set thriller, with a 2-1 score (21-15, 18-21, 15-13). Taking home the bronze was Thailand's Nuttanon Inkiew/Sedtawat Padsawud (THA) after beating the German pair Paul Becker/Eric Stadie (GER).

          Fruhbauer/Wutzl notes, "This is our first gold medal in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for Austria. It's amazing and was an incredible game. We started really well in the first set, but in the second set they fought back so it was hard and we lost. In the third, we had a really good game. For us, they were really tough and were the hardest opponents throughout the whole tournament. For sure, this result is a step in the right direction."

          Meanwhile, it was the Russian ladies Ksenia Dabizha/Daria Mastikova (RUS) who came away with the gold medal. Dabizha/Mastikova defeated the Dutch qualifiers Katja Stam/Julia Wouters (NED) in straights sets in the ladies' final (21-10, 29-27). Claiming the bronze medal were Australia's Phoebe Bell/Jessyka Ngauamo (AUS) after edging out Bonnerova/Pluharova (CZE) to claim the third spot on the podium.

          Dabizha/Mastikova notes, "The first set was really easy, but the second was much harder as the Dutch ladies fought back. It made us quite nervous as we had to fight for every point. We have to thank all the Russian fans who came to watch us play, this motivated us to play well."

          "What a fantastic end to the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour -- Langkawi Open 2018. It has been a weekend of surprises, upsets and triumph across the men and women's competitions. Congratulations to Ksenia Dabizha/Daria Mastikova of Russia for providing us an entertaining finale and to Simon Fruhbauer/Jorg Wutzl of Austria for winning their first World Tour gold. The matches were all extremely exciting and nail-biting affairs despite the torrential downpour this morning forcing delays. Many thanks to our partners and sponsors for making the Langkawi Open 2018 a success," notes Andrew Ching, Chief Executive Office of E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd, promoter and organiser of this year's tournament.