Langkawi, Malaysia, April 29, 2018 – Russia’s Ksenia Dabizha and Daria Mastikova claimed the women’s gold medal in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Langkawi Open with a 2-0 (21-10, 29-27) win over the Netherlands’ Katja Stam/Julia Wouters at Pantai Cenang on Sunday.
In their first World Tour event together, Dabizha/Mastikova were rewarded with the top podium finish, sweeping all their matches since the start of the main draw competition.
The Russians claimed an easy victory in the first set, but the Dutch pair never gave up and challenged their rivals until the end. Stam/Wouters pushed for an extension of the second set that went to a decision of a two-point margin at 29-27.
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Bell/Ngauamo bagged the bronze medal after a convincing 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) win over the Czech Republic’s Martina Bonnerova/Tereza Pluharova. The Langkawi 1-star is the Australian pair’s second World Tour tournament together and their first podium finish of 2018.
Earlier in the semifinals, Dabizha/Mastikova eluded the strong challenge by Australia’s Bell/Ngauamo to win 2-1 (21-12, 19-21, 15-10), while Stams/Wouters beat Bonnerova/Pluharova 2-0 (23-21, 21-11).