Samoilovs/Smedins - Nicolai/Lupo (Highlights)

The local heroes Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai eventually fulfilled their dream of home glory with a 2:1 victory over first-seeded Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins of Latvia (21:19, 14:21, 17:15). There was barely one seat left on the stands of the centre court for the gold medal match whereby a week blessed with sun and world-class matches came to an end. Lupo and Nicolai could stand the pressure and claim Italy’s first gold medal since the European Championship was established back in 1993. Samoilovs and Smedins, on the other hand, had to be content with silver as they had done already last year in Klagenfurt. Bronze went to Austria’s Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst who upset reigning European champions Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira (18:21, 21:16, 15:12). Nicolai received also the award for the smart player of the tournament presented by CEV car partner smart.

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