Dutch Meppelink- van Gestel claim first win in the Olympic history – Volleyball News
Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel from the Netherlands made a big breakthrough in their second match of the 2012 London Olympic Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament. The Dutch tandem defeated Australia’s Becchara Palmer - Louise Bawden and recorded
its first victory in the Olympic history.
The match result was out in only 36 minutes, while the set scores were 2-0 (21-19, 21-15). The packed up Horse Guards Parade provided the backdrop for the match. Victory allowed the Dutch pair to keep their hopes alive to advance to the knockout stage of
the tournament.
Meppelink - van Gestel started their journey in Pool E of the Olympic Tournament alongside duos from Brazil, Germany and Australia. In their first match on Sunday, they clashed with Brazil’s Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes. The fifth-seeded Brazilian
team proved to be too strong for 20th-seeded Dutch pair and took away the match. Dutch pair suffered the loss in straight sets.
However, Meppelink - van Gestel came up with a better plan against Australian duo in the next match on Tuesday. In the first set of the match, Aussies gave a good competition to the Dutch side. They trailed lagged behind, but staged a great fight. Dutch
team claimed the opening stanza with a narrow gap of two points (21-19).
Using the competitive edge of first-set victory, Meppelink - van Gestel made a good start in the next frame. They played with more confidence and picked up an early lead. Both players on the Dutch side performed up to the mark and managed to dismiss the
opponents with a fair margin of points. Dutch duo finished the match in two sets and claimed a historic win at the Olympics.
Meppelink shared her thoughts after the match: “For Dutch women it is the first beach volleyball victory in Olympic history. We (the Dutch) have won a set before, but never a match. So we made history. We played really well, we know they play well in the
second games, so we put a lot of pressure on them and it paid off.”
Meppelink and van Gestel will now return to action on Thursday, August 2. They are scheduled to meet Germany’s Lara Ludwig and Sara Gollar in the next match. Both teams have the similar 1-1 win/loss record in the tournament so far. Nevertheless, the German
pair has a higher ranking and is likely to create some trouble for the Dutch counterparts. The next decisive match will be of extreme importance as the winning duo will advance to the next round.
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