Beach volleyball

Opening defeat for Hörl/Horst in Vienna

Alexander Horst (left) and Julian Hörl(Bild: GEPA)

Austria's top beach volleyball players Julian Hörl/Alexander Horst have lost their first group match at the Elite 16 home tournament at Vienna's Heumarkt. The ÖVV duo lost 0:2 (-15,-19) to the favored Dutchmen Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot in an already packed arena on Thursday afternoon. In the evening session, Hörl/Horst will once again face an "Oranje" team, namely Steven van de Velde/Matthew Immers.

The Austrian Olympic starters did not get off to a good start and were at a loss in the first set against the world number four. Hörl and Horst kept the second set open, but squandered a four-point lead, while Boermans/De Groot made the most of their opportunities in the final set. "We didn't take our chances," said Horst self-critically. "We'll make sure we do better in the evening," promised Hörl.

Klingers still in action
Dorina and Ronja Klinger are also still in action on Thursday. The Styrians will play their third and decisive group match against Brazilians Agatha/Rebecca in the afternoon (4.00 pm). A win would put the sisters through to the intermediate round.