By Rohith Nair
PARIS (Reuters) -Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig beat Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler in straight sets to win the Olympic gold medal in men’s beach volleyball in a quick final at the impromptu arena at the base of the Eiffel Tower on Saturday.
In the bronze medal match earlier in the day, Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Soerum, gold medallists in Tokyo three years ago, beat Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in straight sets.
Sweden had never won a medal in the sport and the two 22-year-olds, who have evolved the game with their trademark jump-set second-contact offence that has caught so many opponents off guard, were deserved winners after a stellar knockout phase.
At the floodlit stadium under the shimmering lights of the city’s most iconic monument, a pumped-up crowd wearing bracelets that lit up in a synchronised fashion celebrated each point, dancing to the tunes of the DJ in between.
On the white sand in perfect conditions, it was the Swedish pair who sparkled as they wrapped up the contest in 36 minutes, winning 21-10 21-13 – a far cry from the women’s final on Friday which went the distance.
Sweden stormed into the lead in the opening set with clever decision-making on attack points while the Germans made several errors, especially on serve.
Ahman and Hellvig communicated well to cover the court while they also managed to defend well against the 6-foot 11-inch German Ehlers.
Ultimately, the errors cost the Germans but it was Hellvig’s four block points that gave the Swedes the upper hand psychologically as their opponents struggled to score.
“They’re the best team in the world. It was a horrible match for us… Before the match I felt amazing, I really can’t say what happened right now,” a shell-shocked Wickler said.
“We feel so bad playing at such a level in the biggest game of our career. We’re very sorry to the German fans, our friends and family who came here to watch.”
His towering partner Ehlers was simply at a loss for words.
In the third-place match earlier, Norway’s defending champions sealed a convincing 21-13 21-16 victory over Qatar who had won bronze in Tokyo.
The Norwegian duo were crushed to lose the semi-final to Germany but will not go home empty-handed, and having sealed their bronze medals, they urged the crowd to celebrate with a “Viking clap” that echoed around the arena.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Paris; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Ken Ferris)
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