Canadian duos book slots in Main-Draw – 2011 Beijing Grand Slam
The 2011 SWATCH FIVB Beijing Grand Slam Beach Volleyball Tournament is under way in Beijing, China. The tournament was officially kicked off on Monday, June 6 with the Country Quota playoffs. In the CQ stage, only one match was featured between the American
Teams. Most of the teams including Canadian teams opened the tournament on Tuesday in the Qualification Tournament. The successful teams of the Qualification Tournament advanced to the 32-Team Main Draw stage. A total of 8 men’s teams clinched success at the
Qualification Tournament.
Two Canadian duos also sparked on the scene and qualified for the Main-Draw. It was quite dramatic that Candia players outshone the strong opponents and moved ahead. The victorious duos include the pairing of Richard Van Huizen and Josh Binstock of Toronto;
the other duo was composed of Van Huizen and Binstock. Both teams appeared in two matches apiece and pulled off success.
Binstock/Van Huizen vs. Schnider/Gabathuler 2-0 (21-15, 21-14)
Binstock and Van Huizen played the first match against Swiss team. Jan Schnider and Philip Gabathuler challenged the Canadian team. The opening set of the match saw long rallies and exchange of fast rallies. The defence of the Canadian team was the key to
their success. They restricted the opponents to a low score and capture first set with good margin of 6 points. The second set also graced Canadian duo with success as they proved to be better team. The Swiss team gave up and accepted the better status of
Canadian team.
Binstock/Van Huizen vs Kevin/Andy 2-0 (21-19, 32-30)
In the second match of the day, Canadian team came across France’s Andy Ces and Kevin Ces. The 21st seeded French duo gave a hard time to Binstock/Van Huizen. The match was a total heated competition from start till end. French team put up a valiant
effort and created much trouble for the opponents. However, Canadian tandem grabbed success by posting 21-19 in first set. After dropping the opening set, French team hit back strongly and seemed fully prepared to seek revenge. Second set of the match saw
many ups and downs. Finally Binstock put an end to the tussle and closed off second set with a perfect killer. They claimed the match and settled for Main-Draw stage on Wednesday.
Redmann/Saxton vs. Horst Daniel 2-0 (21-17, 21-19)
The second Canadian duo defeated Alexander Horst and Daniel Mullner of Austria in two straight sets. Redmann and Saxton easily managed to claim the first set of the match. They played sensibly and didn’t make any hasty moves. Austrian players suffered the
damage in opening set by trailing four points behind. Performance of Austrian duo improved in second set but still it was not enough to save them from loss of the match. Austria dropped the decisive second set with a narrow gap of two points.
Redmann/Saxton vs. Doppler/Mellitzer 2-1 (28-30, 21-19, and 15-12)
It was the longest match of the qualifying round between Canadian and Austrian teams. Radmann and Saxton found a strong rivalry in the form of Clemens Doppler and Matthias Mellitzer. Canada lost the first set but made a come-back in second set. The 15-point
golden set was a see saw battle. Both teams played with best of their tactics but Canada emerged as the victorious team due to their better performance.
The women’s event is also running along with same intensity. It started on the same day and has the similar format. The women’s pairs of Canada couldn’t create much of buzz. The tandem of Liz Maloney and Heather Bansley got eliminated in the second round
of the tournament. The other Canadian team of Kacie MacTavis and Julie Rodrigue lost their opening matches and couldn’t advance to the second-day play.
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