Angelique Adeline and Dania Hoareau had to settle for bronze at the second leg of the Zone 7 beach volleyball tour in the Comoros last week, as their bid to retain the women’s title they won on home soil in July came to an end in the semi-finals.

The Seychelles duo recovered from their disappointment to secure third place with a convincing 2-0 victory over Madagascar’s Andri and Jessie in the classification match at Itsandra Mdjini. Adeline and Hoareau dominated both sets, winning 21-8 and 21-10 to comfortably claim the bronze medal.

It was their second straight-set victory over the Malagasy pair during the competition, having also beaten them by an identical scoreline in their earlier meeting.

However, their title defence was halted by Mauritius’ Valentine and Joanitta, who defeated the Seychelles pair in the semi-finals before going on to capture the women’s crown. The Mauritian duo thus gained revenge for their defeat to Adeline and Hoareau in the gold medal match during the opening leg of the tour in Seychelles in July.

In the men’s competition, Seychelles endured a more disappointing campaign, with neither of its two pairs managing to reach the semi-finals.

Ricky Vel and Jean-Philippe Vidot, who finished runners-up at the opening leg on home soil, were unable to reproduce that performance in the Comoros and instead found themselves competing for a classification position outside the top four.

Their compatriots Enrico Ernesta and Gerry Lozaique also failed to progress to the semi-finals, ending Seychelles’ hopes of a men’s podium finish.

Mauritius’ Alfred and Doobraz, meanwhile, secured the men’s title to successfully defend the crown they won during the first leg in Seychelles.

The results mark a setback for Seychelles after an encouraging start to the regional tour in July, when Adeline and Hoareau claimed the women’s title while Vel and Vidot reached the men’s final.

With the Indian Ocean Games approaching, the Seychelles beach volleyball teams will need to regroup and sharpen their performances if they are to return to medal-winning form and mount a serious challenge for honours at the regional multi-sport event.