Kish Island, Iran, February 16, 2017 – Markus Bockermann and Lars Fluggen of Germany and last year’s bronze medallists Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak of Poland got off to a strong start in the main draw of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Kish Island 3-Star 2017, recording straight-set wins on Thursday.
Bockermann/Fluggen defeated Russia’s Ruslan Daianov/Yury Bogatov 2-0 (21-14, 21-10), while Kantor/Losiak beat Austria’s Daniel Mullner/Florian Schnetzer 2-0 (21-18, 21-17).
Germany’s Bockermann/Fluggen cruise to the Round of 16 with a win over Russia’s Daianov/Bogatov
Piotr Kantor of Poland blocking Daniel Mullner of AustriaIn other all-European match-ups, France’s Arnaud Loiseau/Arnaud Gauthier-Rat, Switzerland’s Mirco Gerson/Michiel Zandbergen, Belgium’s Dries Koekelkoren/Tom Van Walle and Germany’s Jonathan Erdmann/Armin Dollinger prevailed against their rivals to advance to the Round of 16.
France's Arnaud Gauthier-Art keeping the ball in playMeanwhile, France’s Maxime Thiercy/Romain Di Giantommaso and Australia’s Cole Durant/Zachery Schubert eliminated Iran’s two remaining teams. The French pair defeated Aghamohammad Salagh/Abohamed Mirzaali 2-0, while the Australian duo defeated Rahman Raoufi/Bahman Selemiinjehboroun in a nail-biting tie-breaker.
Australia's Durant/Schubert celebrate their win over Iran's Raoufi/Selemiinjehboroun