The Krafft brothers, Max and Jura, came joint 25th out of 47 nations at the Beach Volleyball u21 World Championships which was concluded in Puebla, Mexico, over the weekend.
They lost all three their group matches against top European volleyball nations but picked up invaluable experience along the way.
Their best performance came in their opening match when they lost a marathon three-setter against Vojtech Pavlusek and Vojtech Votava of the Czech Republic.
In the longest men’s match of the day the Czech pair squeezed out a thrilling 21-13, 18-21, 16-14 victory over the Namibians.
The Krafft brothers even had a match point at 14-13 in the tie-breaker but they could not convert and the Czech pair struck back with three points in a row to win the set and the match. The Czech pair eventually finished 13th at the championships.
The following day the Krafft brothers took on Even Aas and Jonah Utvik of Norway and despite holding their own for much of the opening set, they eventually lost in straight sets, 21-17, 21-11.
The Norwegian pair went on to finish sixth overall.
On 18 October, the Krafft brothers came up against one of the strongest teams at the tournament – the Polish pair of Szymon Beta and Artem Besarab – and were soundly beaten in straight sets 21-9, 21-12.
Beta and Besarab, however, went on to reach the final where they lost 21-19, 21-19 in a thriller against Gustavs Auzins and Kristians Fokerots of Austria.
Despite losing all their matches Max and Jura’s father, Martin, who coaches them, says it was an outstanding achievement.
“Comparing training hours and match options with some of the top teams here, it is outstanding what the boys achieved. Our group seeding was very tough and we found ourselves with eventual runners-up Poland, Norway who came sixth and the Czech Republic who came 13th. It was a great experience for us because we learn from these tough matches, but at the same time it makes it more difficult to reach the next round,” he says.
Max is satisfied with their performance, saying it was a great experience.
“I think finishing 25th is outstanding under the circumstances, because our group was very tough, but we still achieved a good point ratio. These matches are important to improve,” he says.
“We won a set and almost the match against the Czech Republic, which is a great achievement. Furthermore, it was an amazing experience to play on centre court against Poland with around 2 000 spectators,” he adds.
Max says the experienced gained will be of great value to Namibian volleyball as a whole.
“I’d say the experience gained will benefit beach volleyball in Namibia through strengthening the game and community back home, while I think our game has improved drastically through the international exposure. We also learnt a lot about the organisation that such a programme requires,” he says.
Jura is just as proud of their achievement.
“I think finishing 25th at the u21 World Championships is a huge achievement for me and Namibian volleyball in general. Winning a set and competing against the top teams in the world really shows that Namibia can compete and that there is a bright future for Namibian volleyball,” he says.
Father Martin says it was an honour to compete at the Beach Volleyball u21 World Championships.
“The tournament was truly thrilling, and Namibia being represented on the world stage was an honour and inspiration. We are proud to see the amazing development of Namibian beach volleyball, not only in Mexico, but also at the Zone VI tournament in Cape Town this week,” he says.
“International exposure boosts not only our confidence in play, but we all learn from it – the athletes, coaches, the federation, the association and the organisers and sponsors,” he adds.
Namibia, meanwhile, also excelled at the third leg of the African beach volleyball tour which concluded in Cape Town over the weekend, with the Lück sisters, Romy and Pia, winning the silver medal in the women’s category.
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