The Krafft brothers, Max and Jura, will leave for Puebla, Mexico, this week to compete at the under-21 Beach Volleyball World Championships from 15 to 19 October.
On Saturday they signed off in style when they won all their matches in straight sets to win the senior men’s category at the DTS Liqui Fruit Beach Voleyball Spring Open at the DTS club in Windhoek.
Panashe Chiguta and Kudakwashe Mahachi won the silver medal, while Jan Erick Sack and Conrad Johannes won the bronze medal.
Max (19) and Jura (17) qualified for the world championships when they won the Africa Championships in Morocco in June, after beating Mozambique in straight sets in the final.
Max, who studies at Stellenbosch University, says they are well prepared and looking forward to the World Championships.
“Our volleyball journey started about four years ago, when I switched from soccer to volleyball. I played with a lot of different partners and also went to the African Championships several times as well as the under-19 World Championships in China,” he says.
“In June, my brother Jura and I qualified for the world cup when we won the under-21 African Championships in Morocco and now we are in the preparation phase for the world cup. We’ve competed in a few tournaments, including one in Angola, and we have also had a lot of training camps here at DTS and Cape Town. We are very excited to go to go and compete at the world championships and put Namibia on the map,” he says.
Their father, Martin Krafft, who is also their coach and will accompany them to Mexico, says it has been a demanding journey.
“It has been a tough preparation phase where we balanced school, university and training, but it’s a family effort and we learn every day. There will be 50 teams competing at the World Championships in Mexico, and we hope to finish in the top third.
“At the under-19 World Championships in China we came 25th, so if we can finish in the top 20 in Mexico it will be an excellent result,” he says.
Their mother, Inka, acts as team manager and has been heading the brothers’ fundraising efforts, which has enabled them to compete abroad over the past few years.
She thanks their sponsors who have supported the brothers for the under-21 world championships, but says more funds are needed to cover the trip.
“I want to thank our sponsors the Janine & Suzelle Davin Sport Trust Fund, Pupkewitz Motors, MSO Management System Optimisation, Komnik and Franck, the DTS club, and other private individuals as well,” she says.
“These contributions have been essential in helping us get closer to our goal, but we still face a shortfall of N$93 000 to cover the cost to Mexico,” she says.
Inka Krafft can be contacted at 081 129 8701 for more information.
Other results of the DTS Liqui Fruit Beach Voleyball Spring Open were as follows: The Lück sisters, Romy and Pia won the senior women’s division, followed by Maike van Doorn and Carmen Curschmann, while Rauna Shitalangaho and Meameno Heita came third.
Tumeretino Lebereki and Matheus Nahenda won the under-19 boys’ category, followed by Tilo Gallert and Johann Ritzer in second place, and Kito Gallert and Charlie Dürrschmidt in third place.
Isabel von Wietersheim and Nora Rogl won the under-19 girls’ category, followed by Julia Ndeya and Patricia Uusiku, while Lilly Marschall and Nadia Bohm came third.
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