Beach Volleyball Update - Norway and Brazil advance from Country Quota phase
The SWATCH FIVB Otera Open Kristiansand Men’s Tournament started off with Country Quota matches on Tuesday, 10th August 2010. Four Norwegian teams achieved success in the Country Quota Playoffs and qualified for the next stage (Qualification Tournament).
Otera Open is the 12th stop of SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar, which involves men tournament for prize money of US$380,000. This is the consecutive 4th event happening at Kristiansand, Norway.
Teams from Spain, Brazil, and Russia have good records on the centre-courts of Kristiansand, as they have already collected first three gold medals in men’s category. In the women’s section, all three Otera Open titles have been claimed by Brazilian top-seeded pair, Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca, who surely aim to extend their winning streak to four gold medals at Kristiansand, Norway.
In the Brazilian Country Quota playoffs Benjamin Insfran and Bruno Oscar Schmidt defeated their country mates Rooney Ferramenta and Moises Santos. The exchange of smashing hits continued for almost 63 minutes when ultimately Rooney and Moises accepted defeat from Benjamin/Bruno. The winning pair posted 21-18, 17-21, and 17-15 and confirmed their participation in the Qualification Tournament of the SWATCH FIVB Otera Open Kristiansand.
Rooney Ferramenta and Moises Santos started the day with a victory over their compatriots Bruno de Paula and Fabio Magalhaes in two straight sets (21-18 and 21-14) but they lost energy in the next match with Insfran and Schmidt, and fell back.
The teams from Norway benefited from the home courts, and outshined in the Country Quota and qualifier matches. The four Norwegian teams advanced to the men’s Main Draw stage. Tarjei Skarlund and Martin Spinnangr of Norway marked their presence and earned best results in the tournament. With an exhibition of velocity shots, they dismissed strong pairs and qualified their Main Draw berth along with Vegard Hoidalen/ Jorre Kjemperud and Oivind/Iver.
Skarlund and Spinnangr finished second in the SWATCH FIVB ConocoPhillips Grand Slam Stavanger 2010, which ended in first week of July. They lost the final game to David Klemperer and Eric Koreng of Germany. The frequent drop-shots in the last game caused them to get their hands off the gold and grab the silverware. In the current Otera Open championship, they have a fair chance to make good impression and improve on their weak points.
So far they have made good progress in the game and aim to maintain the same records.
The Otera Open 2010 is essentially more important for Jorre Kjemperud of Norway who is paired with Vegard Hoidalen, as it is his 200th FIVB event. Kjemperud is gradually approaching to tie the record of great Brazilian Emanuel Rego, who appeared in the 204 FIVB events and set a record of maximum exposure in the men’s beach volleyball event. In addition, they target to achieve another mark of maximum international team participations in SWATCH FIVB World Tour. The Portuguese Joao Brenha and Miguel Maia set the record of 134 team participations internationally.
The Main Draw matches of the SWATCH FIVB Otera Open championship will be staged today on 13th of August. Since the start of men’s CQs, the home courts have favoured the native players, and helped them advance to the further stages. The tournament is slightly making its way to the final stage and competitions are becoming tougher.
There are a variety of players with excellent beach volleyball skills, who are playing in the Otera Open 2010. The winners of last FIVB Mazury Orlen Grand Slam, American Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers are also making shocking waves, and target to catch the top-spot again in Otera Open. Dalhausser and Rogers are the major threat for any other pair in the game. The tournament will conclude the results on Sunday and until then the fans will have to bear the suspense and un-certainty in the game.
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