Fuzhou, China, April 18, 2016 – The 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour continues in China with the Fuzhou Open with the likes of Spain’s Pablo Herrera Allepuz and Adrián Gavira Collado continuing their 2016 campaign.
In its fourth consecutive year, the double-gender FIVB Fuzhou Open immediately follows the China’s Xiamen Open with a similar prize purse of US$150,000.
Ready to go in Fuzhou
Herrera and Gavira enter Fuzhou thirsty for more, snatching gold at the Xiamen Open just days before. The Spanish beat John Hyden and Tri Bourne in the final, the USA pair back among the medals after a slow start to the season.
Canada’s Chaim Schalk and Ben Saxton will also have their eyes on Herrera and Gavira as the pair lost to the Spaniards in the quarter finals of Xiamen.
Schalk and Saxton enter the Fuzhou Open as second seeds behind USA’s Philip Dalhausser and Nicholas Lucena who aim for their second gold of the season following success at the Maceio Open.
Familiar faces Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins back in Fuzhou for a third year, will hope to step on the podium for the first time in 2016.
2015 Fuzhou Open bronze medallists Youssef Krou and Edouard Rowlandson from France currently stand fifth in the FIVB World Tour Ranking, but it is Italy’s Alex Ranghieri Adrian Ignacio Carambula Raurich who have the highest ranking among the teams in Fuzhou. Ranghieri/Carambula claimed gold in this year’s Qatar Open and are presently second in the World Tour.
The Fuzhou Open gets underway with the men’s qualification tournament on April 19. Twenty six teams compete for a place in the main draw with Austria’s Thomas Kunert and Christoph Dressler entering as top seeded qualifiers.
The Fuzhou Open is held at the purpose built venue in the city’s Mianjiang Riverside Park. China has hosted a total of 55 FIVB World Tour events and is the second Chinese stop on the 2016 calendar immediately following the double-gender event FIVB Xiamen Open.
The gold medal teams in each gender at the FIVB Fuzhou Open will each split $11,000, the silver $8,000, the bronze $6,000 and fourth place $4,500. The men’s medal matches will be held on Saturday and the women’s medal matches will be held on Sunday.
Quick links
• Fuzhou Open - Women