Dubai: Kevin Denecker of France combined with Brazilian Cassiano to win the AFC Sports Academy’s footvolley tournament, while Nicola Festelli teamed up with Mohammad Zahra to clinch the SuperSports’ UAE beach tennis crown at the end of the opening weekend of the Dubai Sports Council’s (DSC) Beach Sports Festival.
Held at Jumeirah’s Kite Beach, Denecker and Cassiano were unstoppable in the footvolley event leaving the UAE’s Mohammad Al Suwaidi and his Brazilian teammate Ricardo in second place, while Nikolaj Kirk of Denmark and Derek from Scotland came in third.
In the beach tennis competition, it was Festelli and Zahra coming tops, while leaving Khalid Mousli and Vincenzo Ventricelli in second while Spaniard Emilio Misas teamed up with Ahmad Essa Al Aaraj to take the third spot.
The highlight of the opening week was the presence of Henrique Luvannor, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai’s star striker, who went on to salute the DSC for organising such an event.
Born in Brazil, Luvannor acquired Moldovan citizenship in 2013, and has since played for the national football team on four occasions, scoring two goals.
“I have come here to support my friends and, of course, to support this initiative from the Dubai Sports Council,” Luvannor said.
The Moldovan striker, who turned 30 earlier this year, was one of the stars of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) after signing for Al Shabab Club in 2014. But then, after the merger of three clubs in Dubai in 2017, he has continued with Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and been one of their regular goalscorers.
“This is a very well organised event. We came here and everyone is respecting social distancing rules. The Dubai Sports Council has prepared for everything. The sanitisers were there everywhere, and people were wearing masks. That’s really nice because we also need to take care about our health,” he said.
“I am also here to support this good sport in Dubai, footvolley, and I want to congratulate Dubai Sports Council for promoting this sport.”
RESULTS
AFC Sports Academy FootVolley Tournament
1. Kevin Denecker (France)/Cassiano (Brazil)
2. Mohammad Al Suwaidi (UAE)/Ricardo (Brazil)
3. Nikolaj Kirk (Denmark)/Derek (Scotland)
SuperSports UAE Beach Tennis
1. Nicola Festelli/Mohammad Zahra
2. Khalid Mousli/Vincenzo Ventricelli
3. Emilio Misas/Ahmad Essa Al Aaraj
