Brazilians Smash Beach Volleyball Opponents In Olympic March

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Aug, 2024) Women's beach volleyball favourites Brazil resolutely ended the Olympic hopes of their Latvian opponents in the women's quarter-finals Wednesday, continuing their unbeaten streak in a defiant Paris Games.

Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa fought Latvian pair Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova in a game which showcased their deserved reputation as world-class players.

The pair took a while to find their footing, however, making clunky errors in the opening minutes that saw the Latvians claim an easy first six points -- before the fightback began.

The top-seeded Brazilians quickly regained and overtook lost ground to secure the first set, and by the second set there was no doubt who was in charge.

The duo romped to victory in just 32 minutes, winning the second set 21/10 to the delight of an army of Brazilian fans filling the stands of the stadium in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

Supporters in green and yellow T-shirts, hats and wigs waved flags, whooping and whistling every point as though it was a gold medal.

The Brazilian victors ran around the stadium after the game, posing for photos and high-fiving fans who lingered despite the best efforts of security to usher them out.

"I really like firing up the crowd," Silva Ramos said afterwards. "I feel like they are hugging us and supporting us, so I hope it happens again tomorrow."

Silva Ramos and Santos Lisboa first teamed up in 2014 to win the gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games, but competed with different partners in Tokyo 2020 -- with less successful results -- and decided to reunite again for Paris.

They will face Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar from Australia in the semi-finals on Thursday at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT).

In the day's earlier quarter-final, Spain's Daniela Alvarez Mendoza and Tania Moreno Matveeva took on a dominant Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson from Canada.

Every point was fought-for hard as the score sheet crawled, with fans on their feet as an ecstatic Canadian pair snatched victory to secure the final point.

Wearing distinctive one-shoulder white bikinis and reflective sunglasses, Humana-Paredes and Swiss-born Wilkerson bettered their Tokyo record, where they made it to the quarter-finals.

They will now play Switzerland's Tanja Hueberli and Nina Brunner in the earlier semi-final on Thursday evening.

The first two women's quarter-finals were played Tuesday in a tense session where Hueberli and Brunner knocked out women's world champions, US duo Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng.The first men's quarter-final match of the day pitted two prime teams together as the lights came on over the Eiffel Tower.

Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Anders Berntsen Mol and Christian Sandlie Soerum of Norway -- who have won every game of their Olympic campaign so far -- cruised to a comfortable victory against Spain's Pablo Herrera Allepuz and Adrian Gavira Collado, performing somersaults across the sand after booking their place in the next round.

"This Olympics is special," Berntsen Mol told reporters. "That is bringing the best out of us."

But it marked the end of the road for 42-year-old Herrera Allepuz, who has said this will be his last Olympics after playing alongside Gavira Collado since 2008 -- the first pairing to compete together at four Olympic Games.

The quarter-finals rounded off with a showdown between Tokyo 2020 men's bronze medal winners Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar and Andrew Benesh and Miles Partain of the US.

The playful Qatari pair had clearly set out to enjoy themselves with a cheeky style earning the support of a thunderous crowd as they spun the ball on their fingers, clapping and dancing with the crowd between serves.

Younousse and Tijan -- both naturalised Qataris born in Senegal and Gambia respectively --- raced to a triumphant 21/14, 21/16, earning a standing ovation and leading the crowd in a dance after reaching victory.

The Norwegian victors will play Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler of Germany in the early semi-final Thursday; the Qatari duo will take on world number one, Swedish duo David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig, in the later game.