Defending champions out of Olympic beach volleyball final
20/8/2008 17:55
Brazilian defending champions Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos were
defeated in men's beach volleyball semifinal at the Beijing Olympics
today.
They lost to their Brazilian compatriots, Marcio Araujo and Fabio
Magalhaes 20-22 and 18-21.
"Fabio and Marcio played very well in the match.
Their blocks and strikes were excellent and we made a lot of mistakes,"
commented Santos after the match.
"I wish them very good performance in the
final and I will cheer for them," he told a press conference.
The defending
champions will meet Georgia's Renato Gomes and Jorge Terceiro, who lost to US
duo Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser in another semifinal, in the bronze medal
match on Friday.
Araujo and Magalhaes said they hadn't expected they could
win the match against defending champions.
"We knew it would be very
difficult so we put all our energy to play against them and make every ball
perfect. We gave 120 percent of our energy, not 100 percent," said
Araujo.
"We played well in defense and blocks," he said.
The two
Brazilians will face US duo Rogers/Dalhausser in the final.
Araujo and
Magalhaes, placed fourth on the Olympic qualification standing, were winners of
11 FIVB World Tour events and gold medallists at the 2005 FIVB World
Championships.
The 34-year-old Araujo was named FIVB World Tour best
defensive player in 2005, best setter in 2007, and the 29-year-old Magalhaes was
FIVB best blocker in 2005 and most improved player that year.
Xinhua
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