Sochi, Russia, May 2, 2016 - For Russian beach volleyball standout Evgeniya Ukolova, this week’s FIVB World Tour stop on the Sport Inn courts next to the Black Sea will be very enjoyable as compared to other venues she and Ekaterina Birlova have performed at since the start of the qualifying process for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Ukolova and compatriot Konstantin Semenov appeared at a midday media session here Monday prior to the start of this week’s $150,000 Sochi Open where the qualifying session will be played Tuesday to determine the final eight berths for the opening men’s and women’s Main Draw pool play matches Wednesday on the four Sport Inn courts.
“I just like playing close to the sea or ocean,” said Ukolova, who will celebrate her 27th birthday May 17. “The atmosphere is so different when playing in a resort location as compared to playing in a big city like Moscow. The people seem more relax as they stroll along with the boardwalk and can casually watch the Beach Volleyball action on the side courts.”
A FAVOURITE
Ukolova said the Sochi venue is one of her favorite stops on the tour. “The women’s host hotel is next to the centre court and less than 100 metres from the side courts,” Ukolova noted. “It is great when you can walk out of your room and take a few steps and you have arrived on the court. After the match, a few more steps and you are back in your room taking a shower.”
The fan support for the Sochi Open has also impressed Ukolova. “Sochi loves sports,” Ukolova said as representatives from the local sports organizations attended Monday’s press conference. “Obviously, the 2014 Winter Olympics put Sochi on the map. And last week, the world was watching the Formula One race that was held very close to here. And Sochi will be one of the featured venues for the 2018 soccer world cup.”
SHUTTLE
Semenov agreed with Ukolova, but added that the men have to take “a three-minute shuttle ride to the courts. Just kidding about the shuttle as the Sport Inn facility for playing and practising is great. Hopefully, we can get weather like today for the rest of the week. If not, it is just great playing in a venue that provides an excellent opportunity to watch the best Beach Volleyball players in the world perform. With this event featuring Olympic qualifying points, I know the play will be at a very high level for both men and women.”
While Semenov and his partner Viacheslav Krasilnikov have a secured spot among the top men’s teams from the FIVB World Tour on the Rio 2016 provisional Olympic ranking list, Birlova and Ukolova are currently “on the bubble” for the Copacabana event via the international circuit. Excluding Brazilians, the top 15 men’s and women’s teams with a maximum of two per country will qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
OLYMPIC RANKING
Semonov and Krasilnikov are ranked No. 13 on the list (4,460 points) for their best 12 finishes on the Olympic list since the start of qualifying in April 2015. The Russian’s total is 470 points ahead of the No. 16-ranked team from Germany (Jonathan Erdmann/Kay Matysik). Birlova and Ukolova are No. 16 on the women’s list (3,830 points) and 100 points behind No. 15 Ana Gallay/Georgina Klug of Argentina and 260 points behind No. 14 Fan Wang/Yuan Yue of China.
Both Russian teams need to reach the quarterfinals this week to improve their point totals as a fifth-place finish will net the host country pairs 60 additional points. Reaching the semifinals will add 50 more points to their total. In last September’s stop in Sochi, Semonov/Krasilnikov placed fourth and Birlova/Ukolova were ninth.
Competing again in Sochi are the two gold medal winning teams from September’s stop on the Sport Inn courts - Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins of Latvia and Marta Menegatti/Viktoria Orsi Toth of Italy. September's silver medal winners are missing this week, but the bronze medal teams are here - Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai of Italy and Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr of Switzerland.
All four teams are ranked among the provisional Olympic leaders with Samoilovs/Smedins No. 6, Lupo/Nicolai No. 10, Menegatti/Orsi Toth No. 5 and Heidrich/Zumkehr No. 13.
MORE IMPORTANT
“This week’s event is far more important than last September’s Sochi Open,” said promoter Ilya Volodarskiy. “September’s stop was at the start of qualifying when the pressure of placing high was not essential. Now, with only five qualifying events left on the world tour, each team is trying to erase one of their worst finishes to improve their point total. Each match carries more importance in terms of qualifying for Rio along with jockeying for a better seed once they qualify for the Olympics.”
ENTRIES
The Sochi Open has attracted women’s and men’s teams from 32 countries. The Black Sea coastal resort tournament is the first of two events in the Eurasian country this month with Moscow staging a Grand Slam from May 24-29.
Following Tuesday’s qualifier and Wednesday and Thursday’s pool play matches, the elimination round matches begin Friday with the semifinals Saturday. The medal matches will be Sunday where the winning men’s and women’s pairs will each share the $11,000 first-place prizes.
HOST COUNTRY TEAMS
Host Russia has already placed four women’s and three men’s team in the Main Draw led by Birlova/Ukolova and Semenov/ Viacheslav Krasilnikov. Other host country women’s pairs in the money rounds are Yulia Abalakina/Ekaterina Syrtseva, Anastasia Barsuk/Alexandra Moiseeva and Nadezda Makroguzova/Olga Motrich. Russian women’s teams in the qualifier Tuesday are Ksenia Dabizha/Maria Sviridova, Svetlana Kholomina/Olga Kozhadey, Daria Mastikova/Elizaveta Novikova and Daria Rudykh/ Elizaveta Zayonchkovskaya.
Joining Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Semenov in the men’s Main Draw are Oleg Stoyanovskiy/Artem Yarzutkin and Ilya Leshukov/Nikita Liamin. Russian pairs seeking a money round berth Tuesday will be Maxim Sivolap/Igor Velichko, Petr Bakhnar/Dmitrii Odintsov, Yury Bogatov/Maksim Hudyakov and Ruslan Bykanov/Yaroslav Koshkarev.
UP NEXT
Following Sochi, the final four FIVB World Tour qualifying events will be played in Turkey (Antalya, 10-15), the United States (Cincinnati, May 17-22), Moscow (May 24-29) and Germany (Hamburg, June 7-12). Also counting towards Olympic qualification will be the European championships June 1-5 in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be played August 6-18 on iconic Copacabana.