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Berlin (AP) - The German beach volleyball players Karla Borger and Julia Sude's decision not to start at the World Tour tournament in Qatar in March had two reasons, according to coach Thomas Kaczmarek.
“On the one hand, there are political reasons that Karla and Julia do not want to submit to such demands for reasons of worldview,” said the 35-year-old in “Bild”.
"On the other hand, there are sporting reasons, as we use a longer preparation time and don't want to get into the tournament until much later in the season."
For the competitions, the Qatari authorities had stipulated that players should start in shirts and knee-length pants instead of the usual sports bikini.
«We don't want to support that», Borger (32) and Sude (33) had told «Spiegel».
The non-participation was a team decision, "which I support one hundred percent and stand behind it with full conviction," said Kaczmarek.
The German Volleyball Association also reacted with understanding.
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“It's not about wearing little or not.
The point is that we can't do our work in our work clothes, ”said Sude.
Beach volleyball is “damn exhausting”, said Borger: “We adapt to every country where we can.
We are ready for that too.
But you're just dripping in the heat. "
This year, the world association has for the first time added a tournament in Qatar for women to its calendar.
So far only men have been allowed to play there.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210220-99-524734 / 4