Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda Santos Lisboa were the ninth team to earn a place in the direct elimination stage of the Tokyo 2020 women’s Olympic beach volleyball tournament, as five matches were played on Thursday at Shiokaze Park in the Japanese capital. Alison Cerutti and Alvaro Filho topped the standings after point ratios broke a three-way tie in their pool in the men’s tournament. The Brazilians and pool runners-up Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen secured their spots among in the Round of 16, while Czechia’s Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner returned from quarantine to have a victorious Olympic debut.
After forfeiting their opening match in Pool B, Perusic and Schweiner were finally released from quarantine to make their first appearance on the Olympic sand. Despite having had time for just one practice, the Czechs were able to come back from a set down against young Mexican fighters Josue Gaxiola and Jose Luis Rubio and emerge victorious with a 2-1 (17-21, 21-16, 16-14) win.
USA’s Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser won their last game in Pool D, 2-1 (21-19, 18-21, 15-6) over Argentina’s Julian Amado Azaad and Nicolas Capogrosso, but at the end of the day that proved insufficient to finish higher than third in the standings. In the last match of the pool, Alvaro Filho and defending Olympic champion Alison mastered a 2-0 (21-18, 24-22) victory over the Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen, a result that propelled both teams to the knockout round. With the Brazilians, the Dutch and the Americans all finishing on a 2-1 win-loss record, their point ratios broke the three-way tie to determine the final standings.
In a crucial match for the second place in Pool C, world ranking leaders Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda Santos Lisboa outplayed Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson for a solid 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) victory. The Brazilians stamped their pass to the last 16 of the tournament, while the Canadians finished third and may have to win a lucky-loser match to move forward to the knockouts.
Find out more:
Today’s recap of the women’s competition
Today’s recap of the men’s competition
Quick links:
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Schedule and results
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Beach volleyball
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
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