Lianyungang, China, August 17, 2003 - Rebekka Kadijk and Marrit Leenstra of The Netherlands won their first gold medal on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour on Sunday after they defeated Germany's Suzanne Lahme and Danja Musch in damp but exciting final at the China Open.
The Dutch paired ignored the increasingly wet and overcast conditions to down their opponents 21-15, 17-21, 15-13 in a match that attracted a full house in the center court on Lianyungang's pacific coast, despite the constant rain.
Third place went to Olympic champion Natalie Cook and Nicole Sanderson after the Aussie duo saved three match points to secure their second bronze medal in as many weeks with a 17-21, 26-24, 18-16 victory over Swiss pair Nicole Schnyder-Benoit and Simone Kuhn.
For 24-year-old Kadijk it was her first gold since joining the World Tour six seasons ago, and for her 29-year-old partner her first gold since turning professional in 2001.
"I've never heard the Dutch national anthem being played for us before so that was a special moment, especially for my mum as it has always been her dream," said Kadijk, whose previous best with the FIVB was fourth. "Both teams are used to the rain in Europe so it really did not make much difference. The ball gets heavier and not so quick, which helps you to get into position for defence - it's good for the public because it makes more exciting rallies."
The teams had met only once before, in Osaka last week, and on that occasion the score was reversed with the German pair winning 2-1.
"There was not much between us today," added Kadijk, a resident of Rotterdam. "In the first set I think our side-outs and service pressure was better, but then they managed the same in the second, and in the tiebreak I think our service pressure was again the difference.
"We know the Americans and Brazilians aren't here, but it still feels great to get a first place on the World Tour. It also helps us for the Olympics and I think we now have a very good chance of getting to Athens."
Despite their disappointment of losing, especially after fighting back to level the match at 1-1, Lahme and Musch can take some consolation from having posted their best finish together on the World Tour. Lahme, who is playing only her first full season of beach, had a previous best of ninth, while the more experienced Musch also finished second in Osaka four year ago.
At one stage, top seeds Cook and Anderson looked set to leave China empty handed but the Aussies showed admirable battling qualities to deprive their Swiss opponents of their first podium finish.
"I was so disappointed after losing the semi, but bronze is better than going out in fourth," said Sanderson, playing her first season with Cook after a series of major knee operations. "It was nerve-wracking at the end but weren't going to let them have it. We're progressing as a team but I still feel I have a number of improvements to make in my game."
The SWATCH-FIVB World Tour moves on to Indonesia next week for the $150,000 Bali Open. |
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