In the other first-leg match of Pool C, USA’s Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft mastered a 2-0 (21-15, 21-17) shutout of Italian qualifiers Claudia Scampoli & Giada Bianchi.
The other Italian team in the women’s main draw, Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth, also achieved a win over a Brazilian opponent. In a Pool D game, they defeated Andressa Cavalcanti & Taina Bigi in straight sets, 2-0 (21-13, 21-16), contributing 17 points each. In the same pool, German qualifiers Sandra Ittlinger & Kim Van de Velde persevered through a three-set duel with fourth-seeded Lithuanian Olympians Monika Paulikiene & Aine Raupelyte to celebrate a 2-1 (21-12, 9-21, 15-10) win, despite an impressive seven kill blocks from Raupelyte.
Two legs of matches were played in Pools A and B on Thursday. All eight of these games were won by four Brazilian teams, all of whom secured advancement to the knockouts ahead of Friday’s third leg matches for the first places in the pools that guarantee spots directly in the quarterfinals.
In Pool A, top-seeded Thamela Coradello & Victoria Lopes and eighth-seeded Talita Antunes & Taiana Lima both beat each of the other two duos in the pool, Argentina’s Brenda Churin & Ana Gallay and Brazilian qualifiers Thainara Feitosa & Elize Maia, in straight sets.
Similarly, in Pool B, second-seeded Agatha Bednarczuk & Rebecca Cavalcanti and seventh-seeded Vitoria Rodrigues & Hegeile Almeida hammered out two shutouts each, over Paraguayan Olympians Giuliana Poletti & Michelle Valiente and Polish qualifiers Aleksandra Wachowicz & Julia Radelczuk.
