Back from injury, Olympian Hughes begins LA push in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Sarah Hughes is one of the most well-known faces in the beach volleyball circuit in the US. A former world champion, she also dominated college beach volleyball for three years with Kelly Cheng and had an incredible 103-match winning streak.However, she missed the Tokyo Olympics because her partner at that time got injured. Hughes then got back with Cheng and made it to Paris where she finished fifth but later tragedy struck.“Just after Sarah competed in the Paris Olympics, she injured the Achilles tendon on her right ankle and had to spend about eight months away from the sport reconditioning and surgery,” said Edward Keller, the US coach who travelled with the six teams to Bhubaneswar.“It was very difficult for Sarah because Kelly went on with another partner and had several high-level finishes last year while Sarah could just watch on.”The good news is Hughes is now fully fit and is hoping to make it to the LA Olympics with her new partner Ally Batenhorst and in their first international competition here at FIVB Beach Pro Tour Challenge, they grabbed a bronze medal. Being the top seeds, it wasn’t the result that Hughes had in mind but in the end, it was the experience of playing together at the international level that mattered more.

“Coming into a tournament like this, we’re just trying to get reps in. We’re trying to play the best volleyball we can play. Most importantly, we’re just gaining experience as a team,” said Hughes ahead of the tournament. “Of course, we’re here to win and play as tough as we can, but we really just want to be here and get the experience.”As for Batenhorst, who shifted from indoor volleyball to beach, this was certainly a memorable experience.

It’s even more special because she is now getting a chance to play with someone like Hughes, who interestingly reached out to Batenhorst to be her partner. “The way she shows up for people every day and shows up for the sport every day and pushes herself and finds that within herself every day is just really amazing and inspiring,” said Batenhorst.Her opponents, too, were in awe of her during the event at Dutee Chand Athletics Stadium here over the past week.Audrey Koenig, who won the gold in the women’s section with Alexis Durish, said after beating Hughes-Batenhorst in the semifinal, “I think her maturity and ability to handle high pressure situations is impressive. She was able to stay consistently aggressive on her serve and on her defence. So, I think just her experience really showed on the court.”Even as Hughes continues her journey towards LA, one hopes she will be back in India in a year’s time when the tournament will be held in Odisha again and perhaps on an actual beach.