2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games | 17 - 27 août 2014 |
#YOGbeachvolleyball |
Vargas, Venezuela, April 28, 2014 – Argentina’s women and Venezuela’s men have taken gold in the fourth stage of qualifiers for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.
The women’s duo of Camila Hiruela/Irene Verasio
were the first Argentinians to win a qualification stage for Nanjing 2014 after
defeating the duo from Ecuador Carolina Mishelle Pacheco Molina/Valeria
Briggite Batioja Ocampo in the final 2-0 (21-19, 21-15 ).
“We only recently started playing
this sport,†said Hiruela. “The truth is that we still cannot believe what has
happened. We are very happy and will keep practicing to improve."
Her partner Irene Verasio also expressed her delight at getting to this stage. "This is a beautiful experience and it's something you cannot live every day,†said Verasio. “But with heart and desire it is possible to have this major achievement."
Paraguay’s Michelle Brave/Maria Johana Ocampos won third place after beating Venezuela’s Adriana Monasterios/Celeinis Bernal 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-4). The Paraguayan duo reached the semifinals undefeated but fell to Hiruela/Verasio 2-1 (21-7,14-21,12-15).
The Venezuelan duo of José Gomez/Rolando
Hernandez continued their winning streak to defeat Uruguay’s Mauritius Vieyto
Sebastian Acosta/Marco Cairus Lucarelli 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) in the gold medal
match to win their second consecutive championship.
Following their victory, Gomez
said, "First of all I would like to thank God for the victory, the
Ministry of Sport, the Venezuelan Federation of Volleyball, the coaching staff
and the whole country for supporting us."
He also made mention of a larger goal. "Another thing that awaits us is qualification for the Youth Olympic Games. Once this happens we can turn our focus fully on the Youth Olympic Games. This is something that we have talked about to all the coaches so that we can have strong mental preparedness and focus on one goal - an Olympic medal."
Rolando Hernandez also expressed his joy at winning. "I am very happy with my partner and would like to thank God for the victory today. The expectations are the same. Now we're going to Peru in order to get our ticket to the Youth Olympic Games," he concluded.
Argentina’s Santiago Gazaba/Exequiel Yacob took
the third sport in the fourth stage of the Nanjing 2014 qualifiers after
beating Luis Alberto Bramont-Arias/Jimy Stiven Vasquez Heredia 2-0 (24-22, 21-12).
WOMEN'S COMPETITION
Semifinals
Argentina d. Paraguay 2-1 (7-21, 21-14, 15-12)
Ecuador d. Venezuela 2-0 (21-19, 21-11)
Third place
Paraguay d. Venezuela 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-4)
Final
Argentina d. Ecuador 2-0 (21-19, 21-15)
Classification
1 – Argentina
2 - Ecuador
3 - Paraguay
4 - Venezuela
5 - Bolivia
6 - Uruguay
7 - Peru
MEN’S COMPETITION
Semifinals
Peru d. Venezuela - 2-0 (21-13, 21-15)
Argentina d. Uruguay - 2-1 ( 21-15, 18-21, 15-9)
Third place
Argentina d. Peru - 2-0 (24-22, 21-12)
Final
Uruguay d. Venezuela - 2-0 (21-15, 21-19)
Classification
1 – Venezuela
2 – Uruguay
3 – Argentina
4 – Peru
5 – Paraguay