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RULING CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE: Anders Mol and Christian Sørum. Photo: Berit Roald, NTB
Sand volleyball pair Anders Mol (23) and Christian Sørum (24) may win their third consecutive European Championship title, but admit they came close to being unable to participate. On Sunday morning they reached the final of the European Championship.
The Norwegian volleyball duo beat Italians Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo in straight sets in the semi-finals on Sunday morning.
After securing their place in the semi-finals on Saturday, Christian Sørum admitted to VG that he was not sure they would be able to participate in the championship.
– It was close to us having to quit. Until weeks ago, we didn’t know if there would be any European Championships for us, Sørum told VG on Saturday.
– Anders struggled with a thigh injury from fatigue, and they went two months without training together. We trained together just the last week before the European Championship.
They are now ready to play the final of the European Championship on Saturday night. It is played at 6 pm Norwegian time.
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– The uncertainty makes us take one match at a time, but it would clearly be fun if we managed to win the European Championship three years in a row.
Mol / Sørum won both in 2018 and 2019. As a result of the crown, it was unclear for a long time if there would be any European Championships in 2020. And they don’t expect any more tournaments the rest of the year.
– It has been a special year and therefore we are now enjoying this tournament, says Sørum.
They beat Spanish Pablo Herrera / Gavira Collado in the quarterfinals, and regardless of whether they win or lose the semifinals, the Russians await in the battle for the gold or bronze medals.
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– Tired of not playing games in a year and a half
– The Russians have played a lot at home, that’s why they are strong, says Sørum.
The European Championship participants encountered a crazy storm in Latvia on Thursday, and it was completely relevant to play.
But Sørum praises the organizers for being able to prepare the arena for the European Championship games.
Mol and Sørum are ranked number one in the world, but as a result of the pandemic, no one has played much in the last year, and that means that everyone has posed with “blank sheets” in Latvia. But the Norwegians have shown that they have not forgotten the ancient arts at all.
Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen were defeated in the quarterfinals. Russian duo Vyacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovsky were too strong in both sets. Krasilnikov / Stojanovsky will face their compatriots Nikita Ljamin / Taras Myskiv in the second semi-final on Sunday morning.
