Nederlands
From October 20 to October 26, the Dutch Padelteam took, for the first time in history, part in the World Championship Padel for national teams. Sixteen countries were deciding, in Palma de Mallorca, who was the best Padel nation of the world of 2014. One thing seemed to be fixed in advance, this title would not be paid to our humble little country. But whether this prediction was right? You can read it below.
Qualifications Tournament Ghent
Before the team had managed to qualify themselves for the world cup, a very spectacular qualification was enforced during the qualification tournament in Ghent, Belgium. The Dutch Team achieved very nice victories against Austria (3-0), England (3-0) and Germany (2-1). Through these victories the team was assigned a place in Pool B at the World Cup. This, however, seemed to be directly sealed the fate, a heavy group with world cup favorite Spain, outsider Brazil and stable top-10 team USA.
Because of the tough draw, our odds were not too highly estimated. The team was particularly hoping for an excellent third place in their group, to force a place among the top 10 countries. An ambitious but somewhat realistic objective. The Dutch ‘toreadors’ Coen Beltman, Berend Boers, Marcel Bogaart, Peter Bruijsten, Bram Meijer, Chris Nieberg and Joost Snellink were selected again by coach Norberto Nesi for the World Cup to represent the national ‘red-white-blue’ Dutch flag in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
An educational, beautiful, unforgettable week.
From Monday, October 21, all matches were played at the “Pins Padel Club in Palma. Everything on this park breathed padel, sixteen courts located at different heights, over 400 players and coaches, every day a lot of supporters, more than 30 volunteers, the sound of beaten smashes and frequently shouted “Vamos”.
World Championship Padel: First Matches
There we were, Monday 09: 30am. The team began its mission against the team of Brazil. As expected, it was an impossible task for the guys in Orange. Brazil lined up players who were normally playing their matches on World Padel Tour level. Because of the difference in experience and level, the Dutchies were done after 138 minutes, with 5 games up and 36 games down. An inevitable 0-3 was on the scoreboard. We returned to the hotel as quickly as possible and prepared for the crucial match against team USA.
In the muggy afternoon of Palma, the Dutch team began with a tight, somewhat expect, loss against the USA. By a handsome victory of the duo Bogaart / Meijer, the score was equalized and we needed to play a decisive third game. This last game was lost through a single break in the third set. That meant a very frustrating 1-2 loss against team USA. The team that had to be defeated was not defeated. Thereby the Netherlands ended up in a battle for place 13, with the numbers four from all four groups. Before we started this mission, a match against world cup favorite Spain was scheduled for the next morning.
Match Against the Spanish “Dream Team”
With a certain feeling of frustration and impotence, it was time to battle against with the fully professional player of Spain on Tuesday morning. Famous names like Poggi, Paquito, Mieres and Diaz were on the score sheet at our opponent. We were quite sure that names like Meijer and Beltman were also very impressive on our Spanish friends. After a very hopeless loss, our team had another 5 games managed to “win”, again lost 36 games and spent no more than an hour on the job. Many Spaniards were jealous that we can play against them, for us it felt mainly as a humiliation. Even though we can now say that we have played against the best players in the world. Through the three losses in the group, we were competing with Canada, Portugal and Switzerland to the places 13 till 16. The new target for our team was to secure place 13.
Full conviction Canada was subsequently defeated in the first round of the draw. Then we fought against Portugal to determine who could cover the thirteenth spot of the tournament. Unfortunately the Netherlands proved no match for the large experience of Portugal. An inglorious 0-3 defeat struck us as part. The Netherlands finished as 14th padel nation of the world.
The Individual Tournament
After the tournament for country teams, four Dutch teams participated in the individual tournament. Beltman/Bruijsten gained a place among the best 32 teams in the world. The teams Bogaart/Meijer and Boers/Snellink finished in the top 48 teams. The team Hilgerdenaar/Nieberg kept stabbing at the last 64 teams. Unfortunately teams of recognized Padel countries showed to be too strong for the Dutch teams. Reflecting our performance, a 14th spot seemed to be a legitimate place for the Netherlands. The Netherlands has shown themselves to the world as a new padel country! We could summarize the week as very informative, useful and good for the Dutch padel. Many contacts have been made, the world knows that there are also played padel in the Netherlands. And as Mister Patti, president of the international padel federation (FIP), said during the opening ceremony: “We friendly welcome the Netherlands to the family of World Padel. However, it was mainly a fantastic and unforgettable experience!
Sponsors, coach Norberto Nesi, assistant coaches Carlos Santos & Lucas Eslava, interested, supporters of the team, thank you so much for your commitment and cooperation. See you, on to the second participation in 2016, in Miami.
Brazilië – Nederland (3:0)
Julianoti/Bergamini – Bogaart/Meijer: 6-0/6-1
De Oliveira/Reck Boeira – Boers/Snellink: 6-0/6-2
Del Bono/Nunes Gomes – Beltman/Bruijsten: 6-1/6-1
Nederland – U.S.A. (1:2)
Bogaart/Meijer – Boich/Pereyra: 4-6/7-6/7-6
Boers/Snellink – May/Arizpe: 6-3/3-6/3-6
Beltman/Bruijsten – Alcantara/Chun: 1-6/5-7
Nederland – Spanje (0:3)
Bogaart/Meijer – Diaz/Poggi: 2-6/2-6
Boers/Snellink – Navarro/Rodriguez Gomez: 0-6/0-6
Bruijsten/Nieberg – Ferrero/Mieres: 0-6/1-6
Nederland – Canada (2:1)
Boers/Snellink – Shannon/Watson: 6-1/6-3
Beltman/Bruijsten – Hiddleston/Lamb: 5-7/4-6
Bogaart/Meijer – Spiers/Stamile: 7-5/6-1
Nederland – Portugal (0:3)
Boers/Snellink – Roque/Cortes: 2-6/0-6
Beltman/Bruijsten – Mendes/Andrade Viegas: 3-6/2-6
Bogaart/Meijer – Cortes/Bonneville Torres: 6-2/4-6/4-6
By Joost Snellink
