A Day at the Beach

KAZAN – Sitting in the blazing sun at the Kazanka Beach Volleyball Centre, one might be forgiven for thinking that Kazan was a coastal city.

With temperatures reaching 28 degrees celsius, sun umbrellas shading the bronzed athletes and bikini-clad dancers strutting their stuff on the golden sand, one might be mistaken for being on vacation and enjoying a day at the beach on California’s Sunset Strip.

Yet chants of “RUS-SI-A, RUS-SI-A” soon awaken you from your American dream as Russia’s men’s volleyball pairing of Konstantin Semenov and Yaroslav Koshkarev run onto centre court to face USA.

The home crowd are in for a treat in Friday’s beach volleyball action as six of the day’s matches involve the host nation. And don’t the opponents know it. Each point is met with raucous cheers and shouts from the excited onlookers, creating a more than hostile environment for Russia’s opposition.

“It was tough,” USA’s Tri Bourne said of the fanatical support received by their opponents, who managed to beat the Americans in straight sets. “Everything was going their way, and we couldn’t adjust.”

The volume in the stadium soared in the game straight after, where local duo Ekaterina Khomiakova and Evgeniva Ukolova overcame Canada en route to the evening’s final, beating Poland in straight sets to win Universiade gold.

Golden smiles, golden tans and golden medals – a winning day at the beach for team Russia and their fans.

Fabio De Dominicis/FISU Young Reporter (RSA)