Mixed fortunes for beach pairs in Maputo

Namibia’s four-pair squad was recently tested on the Maputo sand at the African Nations Championship (CAN) beach volleyball qualification tournament and the third leg of the Zone Six Tour in Mozambique.

With the two events running consecutively, the CAN qualification tournament was limited to two teams per gender from each country.

The qualifier was held to determine the top two teams that would represent the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone Six at the African championships, scheduled between 1 August and 15 November.

The second event formed part of the Zone Six Tour series, which started with the first leg in Windhoek in February, followed by the second leg in Maputo in March.

Namibia’s standout performers at both events were brothers Max and Jura Krafft, who dominated the pool phase and reached the semi-finals in both competitions, but narrowly missed out on the podium to finish fourth.

The second men’s pair of Luca Kesselmann and Jan Erick Sack endured a tough outing in the pool phase of the qualification tournament.

In the women’s division, Namibia’s Maike van Doorn and Carmen Curschmann, as well as Meriam Mendos and Maggie Heita, showed resilience against tough opposition in the pool phase.

They, however, found the going tough in the knockout stage.

Zone Six third leg

In the second event, Namibia was represented by a new pair of Daniel Seidler and Otto Nahambo, who joined the Krafft brothers in the men’s division. Seidler and Nahambo also impressed in the pool phase and reached the knockout stage.

The women’s division saw the same pairs return to the sand. They again impressed to reach the knockout stage, where Curschmann and Van Doorn went a step further by advancing to the quarterfinals.

Namibia is set to host the fourth leg of the tour in Swakopmund from 7 to 9 August, with the fifth and final leg returning to Maputo from 24 to 28 September.

“The Zone encourages all participating nations to take advantage of this opportunity by participating with teams scheduled to compete at the Region Five Youth Games in Maputo this December.

“[This] will provide valuable experience and preparation ahead of the main event,” said the CAVB.

Reflecting on the Namibian athletes’ performances, national beach volleyball director Conrad Johannes said the events provided valuable exposure for the participating pairs.

“In the women’s division, the absence of the number one pair, sisters Pia and Romy Lück, was felt. This gave the younger team of Mendos and Heita a chance to experience the next level of competition,” he said.

Hub support

Johannes extended gratitude to the Namibia Beach Volleyball Hub for providing resources to support the pair on the trip. Mendos and Heita delivered a standout performance last month by clinching silver at the inaugural Going for Gold Beach Volleyball Series.

“Both [women’s pairs] remained competitive but were unable to progress to the final, which would have secured us a spot at the African championships, which will serve as part of the qualification pathway towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games,” said Johannes.

Mozambique and Angola secured first and second place respectively in the men’s division at the qualification tournament to book their places at the African championships.

In the women’s division, Mozambique and Lesotho progressed after finishing first and second respectively.

Hosts Mozambique also dominated both divisions of the Zone Six Tour’s third leg.

Krafft brothers still in the fight

Reflecting on Kesselmann and Sack’s performance, Johannes explained that the pair was hampered by injuries, which were aggravated by work and study commitments.

“[Because of this], they were not able to prepare to the level they would have liked. Still, they gave some of the best teams in Africa a hard time,” he said.

Johannes further lauded the Krafft brothers’ standout performance, saying they delivered a phenomenal showing considering their ages, with Jura 17 and Max 20.

“They can still reach the CAN event by being ranked among the top six teams in Africa. Currently, they are ranked fifth, but the top two teams are already qualified for the championships, [so they might be considered next],” he said.

“Overall, the athletes can be proud of their performances. As a whole, Namibian volleyball is on the rise and will become a force to fear in African volleyball,” he added.

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