Due to a shoulder injury that has now healed, Joppe Van Langendonck had to cancel an international tournament in Madrid. That is why he is not allowed to compete in the BC round next weekend. — © Vel
Beach volleyball Queen & King of the Court in Haacht
Haacht –
We have to wait a few more days for the first BC round of the season, but Den Dijk in Haacht has already provided a solid warm-up on Thursday with Queen & King of the Court. The list of participants also includes home player Joppe Van Langendonck, for whom a lot has changed since his U21 world title at the end of last year.
These are busy times for the 21-year-old chemistry student from Wespelaar. We speak to Van Langendonck after a session with the physiotherapist and the gym, while a little later he leaves for training. Together with his partner Kyan Vercauteren, he took the step towards a professional framework. The beach duo owes this to the unexpected world title at the U21 World Cup in Thailand, for which they raised the budget themselves through a support campaign. “Our dream was to get there and make the top eight,” says Van Langendonck. “By winning the final we showed that we might be able to grow into something very beautiful. The federation has picked up on that and is now fully behind us.”
The big goal of all that: qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. “In fact, that program had already been set up with a selection of people born in 2004 or later. I was a year too old for that and would therefore fall just outside that category. For myself, that World Cup was really a game changer,” said Van Langendonck, who will therefore no longer be standing in the sand with Christophe Witvrouwen. Last season, Van Langendonck and Witvrouwen took silver at the Belgian Championships, after the experienced duo Colson-Deroey.
Shoulder injury
The fact that Van Langendonck is now at the start of the King of the Court in his own Haacht and not the BK round next weekend is more likely to be due to a combination of circumstances. “Due to a minor injury to my shoulder, we canceled our registration for the international tournament in Madrid. If you do that, participation in a round of the Belgian championship is not permitted,” Van Langendonck explains. “The injury is under control with the necessary care. I’m already looking forward to playing in Haacht. We like the dynamics of the concept in a King of the Court tournament, with constantly different opponents.”
But of course the real focus is not here, he admits. “It is mainly an extra training moment, with high-level competitions in quick succession. And that will be important in view of the Nations Cup (from May 17 to 19 in Lithuania, ed.). We as Team Belgium, including the Vandecaveye brothers, will try to get the most out of it,” concludes Van Langendonck.