At the recent BVA U20 Beach Volleyball Balkan Championships held in Marathon, Greece and Moldova, beneficiaries of the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program, demonstrated their growing prowess by securing half of the available medals. Greece, the host nation, clinched the women`s gold medal courtesy of Eleni Alexoglou and Myrto Paschalaki. Moldova proudly earned two bronze medals: one in the women`s division with Daria Usatova and Valeria Gherman, and another in the men`s category with Daniil Didorciuc and Alexei Usatov. The men`s championship title went to Bulgaria`s Zahari Zgurov and Georgi Antov, while Turkiye`s teams, Tuna Imdat & Baris Gudali and Su Simdim & Bahar Dogan, secured the silver medals in the men`s and women`s events, respectively.
The Greek beach volleyball program has significantly benefited from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment initiative, receiving a substantial USD 262,500 for coach support. This funding aids their national pairs, who are developing under the expert tutelage of Konstantinos Pothitakis and Efstathios Chandrinos. Similarly, Moldova`s national beach volleyball teams are advancing thanks to a USD 42,000 grant from the same program, with their training overseen by Bulgarian coach Vladimir Orlov.
Eleni Alexoglou and Myrto Paschalaki of Greece delivered an outstanding performance in the women`s U20 Beach Volleyball Balkan Championship, securing the title without conceding a single set across their five matches. Their dominance was evident in the all-Greek semifinal, where they defeated Aikaterini Liofti and Kyriaki Koukouditska 2-0 (21-7, 21-18). In the final match for the gold medal, they decisively overcame Turkiye`s Su Simdim and Bahar Dogan with a 2-0 victory (21-19, 21-14).
In their respective semifinal, Simdim and Dogan of Turkiye advanced by defeating Moldova`s Daria Usatova and Valeria Gherman 2-0 (21-16, 21-8). However, Usatova and Gherman demonstrated resilience, recovering to claim the bronze medal with a hard-fought 2-0 (22-20, 21-19) win against Liofti and Koukouditska.
Women`s Tournament Overview
In the men`s competition, Moldova`s Daniil Didorciuc and Alexei Usatov performed strongly, finishing as pool runners-up. They were eventually stopped in the semifinal by the eventual champions, Zahari Zgurov and Georgi Antov of Bulgaria. Despite the semifinal loss, Didorciuc and Usatov regrouped effectively, securing the bronze medal with a commanding 2-0 victory (21-19, 21-15) over Turkiye`s Nevzat Kaan Erol and Polat Kemal Eser, thereby earning a spot on the zonal podium.
Bulgaria`s Zgurov and Antov displayed exceptional form, progressing through the pool stage flawlessly without dropping a set. Their path to the Balkan title, however, became more challenging, involving two intense tie-breakers. In a compelling semifinal, they staged a 2-1 comeback (18-21, 21-16, 15-12) against Didorciuc and Usatov. The gold medal match was a thrilling encounter, with the Bulgarians securing a hard-fought 2-1 victory (21-19, 22-24, 17-15) against Turkiye`s Tuna Imdat and Baris Gudali.
An all-Turkish semifinal saw Imdat and Baris deliver a decisive 2-0 victory (21-9, 21-15) over Erol and Polat Kemal Eser.
Men`s Tournament Overview
The BVA U20 Beach Volleyball Balkan Championships in Marathon featured a total of sixteen teams – eight women`s and eight men`s pairs – representing Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, and Turkiye.
