SYDNEY 3-STAR PARTICIPANTS LOOK AHEAD TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HAMBURG

SYDNEY 3-STAR PARTICIPANTS LOOK AHEAD TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HAMBURG

Sydney, Australia, March 8, 2019 – Some of the best players at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Sydney 3-star event are hoping to participate in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships from June 28 to July 7. The biennial double-gender event will be hosted by the German city of Hamburg.

While competing at the 3-star event in Sydney, Karla Borger, Julia Sude and Isabel Schneider from the World Championships host nation shared their excitement for the event.

“When you can play at the World Championships in your country, it’s always something special,” Borger said.

“We are very happy that we are hosting the World Championships,” Sude added. It’s an honour to play on our home court at Hamburg. I have played at the Rothenbaum Stadium, which is a huge tennis stadium.”

“My partner and I are looking forward to this event,” Schneider said. “It’s in our hometown. It will be good for us. We just have to see how the season goes, but definitely the World Championships is the biggest highlight of 2019, so I am sure everyone will prepare for it.”

Sude and Schneider both agreed that their preparations would soon be in full swing.

“It’s the start of the season and everyone is preparing,” Sude said. “There are a lot of new teams on the German side. Right now it would be difficult to say which German team will be the top team to beat.

“I think there are advantages playing with a new partner because it will bring good motivation, new chemistry and it will help us play new combinations. That’s what makes it exciting.”

“It will be tough to fight for the medals but we will fight hard. For us, we chose to stay as a team,” said Schneider, who plays with Victoria Bieneck.

“We’ve been working together for two years. A new partnership could also give new motivation, but I am really happy that we stayed as a team and can count on what we have.”

Participation in the World Championships is also a goal for Italy’s Marta Menegatti – but she wants to take things one step at a time.

“I think we have started out on a great adventure – before reaching our ultimate goal of qualifying to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,” Menegatti said. “We want to take things step by step and now that we are in Sydney, we want to show here first all the work that we have done in the past month.

“We want to play at the World Championships but the goal has always been to play as well as possible and to play in the semifinals at least. I hope we can get that far in any tournament.”

For former world champion Xue Chen, the focus is on strategy and having the right mindset to compete at the World Championships.

“I am hoping that when my partner and I will play at the World Championships, we will be able to focus on our strategy and visualise that we are always stepping into a big stadium.

“Right now we do not want to rush it, but when the event is near, for sure we will work doubly hard.”

 

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