Reigning world champions Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov have won their first title together in 2020 as the duo dominated this week’s Russian Tour event in Kazan, the first tournament in which they played together since March. Veterans Evgeniya Ukolova and Ekaterina Birlova secured the victory among the women in the third event of the season.
The 23-year-old Stoyanovskiy and the 29-year-old Krasilnikov won four international tournaments last year, including the World Championships in Hamburg. In their first event together in their National Tour season, they needed all three sets (17-21, 23-21, 15-12) to defeat Krasilnikov’s former partner Konstantin Semenov and defender Ilya Leshukov in the gold medal match.
Ruslan Bykanov and Alexander Likholetov finished third after they downed Denis Shekunov and Valeriy Samoday also in three sets (19-21, 21-19, 17-15).
Experience also played a factor in the women’s tournament as the 31-year-old Ukolova and the 33-year-old Birlova triumphed. The two-time Olympians secured their victory with a straight-set (21-17, 21-18) win over Alexandra Moiseeva and Ekaterina Syrtseva.
The bronze medals went to Aleksandra Ganenko and Anastasia Frolova, who defeated Elizaveta Terentyeva and Polina Tsyganova 21-15, 21-14.
The Russian Tour continues next week with the fourth event of the season in Obinsk.
Kantor and Losiak victorious in Myslenice
The favorites also had reason to celebrate in Myslenice, the city that hosted the third stop of the Polish Tour. With Grzegorz Fijalek still recovering from should injury and his partner Michal Bryl not entered in the event, the country’s top team of Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak had no trouble in taking the title.
The Poles, who have been together since 2009, posted a 21-12, 21-15 victory over Michal Kazdiola and Witkor Mielczarek to top the top podium. Jedrzej Brozyniak and Piotr Janiak secured the bronze medal with a 21-18, 21-9 triumph against Michal Korycki and Jaroslaw Lech.
The women’s tournament was also won by the most experienced team as Rio 2016 Olympian Monika Brzostek and partner Aleksandra Gromadowska prevailed over Justyna Lukaszewska and Olga Klocek in the three-set (21-19, 19-21, 15-11) gold medal match. Bronze went to Aleksandra Zdon and Paulina Biranowksa, who downed Malgorzata Szajewska-Skuta and Magdalena Rapacz-Matras in two sets (21-9, 21-11).
Next week the Polish Tour will head to Bialystok.
