PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The Swedish duo David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig lost an even World Cup final in beach volleyball with 1–2 in a set against the Czech Republic.
But the second place is still historic – for the first time Sweden has won a medal in a senior world championship.
– After a loss you are of course always a little disappointed, but we should be very proud of the silver, says Jonatan Hellvig to TT after the final loss in Mexico.
Just as in both the quarter- and semi-finals, teams Åhman and Hellvig offered a real nail-biter. The Czechs Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner won the first set 21–15.
– In the first set, I think they got four serves on us, we were behind the whole time and lost the set, says Jonathan Hellvig.
However, the Swedes came back and took home second, 21–17.
– There we succeeded better in stopping them.
Dramatic finale
In the tiebreaker, Perusic and Schweiner managed to get an early lead and when the score was 12-6, the match seemed to be almost decided. But the Swedish duo did not give up and took point after point but did not manage to catch up completely.
– It’s clear that when you’re down like that, then it’s easy to give up, but we really tried and really felt that okay, via will come again, says David Ohman.
Åhman and Hellvig saved a match point, but in the end the Czech Republic won the decisive act with 15–13.
– Really sad, if we had gotten a better start in the third set then we could have won instead, says David Åhman.
But even he emphasizes that he feels a sense of pride for the silver medal, a feeling that they both believe will outshine the disappointment that always arises right after a loss.
Chasing the Olympic dream
With the performance in Mexico, the duo collects a large amount of ranking points, which bodes well for the Olympics in Paris next year. Unlike the Czechs, who thanks to the win are directly qualified for the games, David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig, however, have to take additional points.
But they are optimistic about the possibility of reaching the Olympics.
– We have a few tournaments left that we have to play, but we are in a good position, absolutely, says Jonatan Hellvig.
Next up is a tournament in Brazil starting November 22. None of them see any problems in recharging after the intense matches and the podium in Mexico.
– Just go in and do everything you can, says Jonatan Hellvig.
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