Cuba Champion Of Malaysia Open World Tour

LANGKAWI (Kedah, Malaysia), April 17 (Bernama) - Cuba and the United States won the men's and the women's categories of the Malaysia Open World Tour Beach Volleyball Championships 2017 (in the picture), here Sunday. Top seeds Diaz Gomez Nivaldo-Sergio Gonzales proved their mettle by beating Florian Schnetzer- Peter Eglseer of Austria, 21-17, 21-18 in the final, and won a gold medal and a cash prize of US$2,000 (RM8,810). In the sem-final, Nivaldo-Gonzales was forced to play three sets before beating Mart Tilsaar-Kusti Nolvak of Estonia, 19-21, 21-13 and 15-13. Tilsaar-Nolvak won the bronze medal and a cash prize of US$1,200 (RM5,286) after beating Lazar Kolarić-Djordje Klasnic of Serbia, 21-17, 21-17. Nilvaldo said the win was very sweet since it was their first gold medal in the world tour. "Although the competition provided by the opponents was stiff, we were determined to win it," he told reporters. In the women's category, top seeds Kimberly Dicello-Emily Stockman of United States had to labour in the final before beating Martina Bonnerova-Sarka Nakladova of Czech Republic, 22-20, 22-24 and 17-15. It (the match) was like a very long journey for us due to the hot weather conditions," said Dicello. Meanwhile, the bronze medal match was a clash of two pairs from Austria which saw Cornelia Rimser-Lena Plesiutschnig beat Nadine Strauss-Teresa Strauss, 21-18, 21-13. A total of 32 teams from 17 countries participated in the tournament. Langkawi island in Malaysia’s northern state Kedah is the second location of the seven tournaments of the world tour this year. --BERNAMA