USA 1 and Kazakhstan completed the semi-final line-up at the 2025 WPV Beach ParaVolley World Championships after finishing second in their groups on Thursday, setting up Friday’s matches against undefeated Poland and Latvia at Pompei Beach along the Mediterranean coast.
Latvians Andrejs Filipavics, Dmitrijs Silovs and Maksis Karlis Grandbergs continued their dominant form in Pool 1 with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) victory over USA 1’s Abram Gornik, Andrew Nation and Kyler Carl Moore. The result gave the Baltic side an impeccable record heading into the semi-finals, while the Americans secured second place after previous wins against Slovakia and USA 3. Slovakia’s Martin Dubovsky, Pavol Sedlak and Erik Nevolny ended their campaign on a high, beating out Samet Can Karasu, Koray Candan and Suleyman Bayram Atilgan Türkiye 2 with 2-0 (21-7, 21-4).
In Pool 2, Poland’s Dariusz Cegielka, Filip Gaca and Artur Wasowicz topped the group after a 2-0 (21-4, 21-10) win over Türkiye 1’s Metin Karaca, Hasari Kose and Selim Akyayla. The defending champions finished with three wins and a hard-fought three-set match against Kazakhstan earlier this week. Kazakh trio Bauyrzhan Urazaliyev, Azimkhan Bekbolatov and Yerbolat Altayev secured second place with a 2-0 (21-5, 21-8) victory over USA 2’s Kurtis Larson, Robert Rodriguez and Kyle Mason, confirming their return to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, USA 3’s John Ekdom, Danny Alvarez Rivadeneira and Jacob Keen ended their campaign with a straight-sets 2-0 (21-10, 21-15) win over Türkiye 2, a strong finish that underlined the progress of all participating teams. Over four days of competition, athletes from six countries demonstrated the growing depth and competitiveness of the standing beach discipline, which continues to gain momentum on the world stage.
Türkiye 2, represented by Samet Can Karasu, Koray Candan and Suleyman Bayram Atilgan, finished their series in ninth place and gained valuable experience in front of the home crowd at Pompei Beach.
The Beach ParaVolley World Championships are part of the World Abilitysport Beach Games 2025, the first multi-sport event dedicated exclusively to beach and aquatic Para disciplines. The Games, held along Mersin’s 116 kilometer coastline, united athletes from all over the world and marked a milestone for para sports in Türkiye.
Friday’s semi-final fixtures start at 10am local time, with USA 1 challenging Pool 2 winners Poland, followed by Kazakhstan at 11am, followed by Pool 1 leaders Latvia. The bronze medal match is scheduled for 2pm and the gold medal final will take place at 3pm, all on Pompei Beach, where the 2025 Beach ParaVolley World Champions will be crowned against the picturesque backdrop of the Mersin coastline.
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