Rhodes, Greece, June 15, 2003 - Beach Volleyball was given another significant boost in Rhodes on Sunday when the final of the first women's event on the 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour brought the curtain down on an exciting two weeks for the sport ahead of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
The Women's Hellas Open, which followed directly on from the men's event staged one week earlier, produced further evidence of the healthy state of the Beach game and the success of the tournament has served as a huge fillip for organizers of next year's Athens Olympics.
Furthermore, while the Brazilians again displayed a wealth of class by having four teams in the last 16, there was enough evidence on display to show that the difference in class between the world's top nations and the lesser-ranked teams is certainly getting smaller.
Several of the leading contenders, including 2002 World Tour champion Kerri Walsh of America and Brazilian Adriana Brandao Behar, ranked number two, alluded to the growing strength-in-depth among the FIVB's women membership.
Season by season the pool matches are getting more demanding for the top-ranked teams as countries such as China, Greece, Cuba and Japan narrow the gap. Indeed, the last 16 consisted of teams from 11 different countries, with youngsters such as Wang Jie and Ji Linjun of China and Greece's Vassiliki Arvanity and Efthalia Koutroumanidou showing outstanding promise as they progressed to the quarterfinals.
For qualifiers Wang and Ji, aged 17 and 18 respectively, their performance at the Women's Hellas Open will surely live with them for many years. Unbeaten in their qualifying matches and pool games, the new partnership came within a whisker of reaching the semifinals before their energy-sapping schedule finally caught up with them as they went down 23-25, 21-19, 18-16 in a thrilling match with Cuba's Tamara Larrea Peraza and Dalixia Fernandez Grasset.
Their day will surely come, but it was the Brazilians who provided both teams in the final of the event held in front of Rhodes's beautiful and historic town hall. The gold went to the Ana Paula Connelly and Sandra Pires Tavares, who defeated compatriots Adriana Brandao Behar and Shelda Kelly Bruno Bede in a tense final.
The new Brazilian pair fought from a set down to secure the $22,000 winner's cheque with a 21-23, 21-19, 15-12 victory in front of a packed house.
Americans Misty May and Kerri Walsh, World Tour champions in 2002, took the bronze after beating Larrea Peraza and Fernandez Grasset 21-15, 25-23.
Ana Paula and Sandra Pires downed May and Walsh 21-14, 21-19 in the semis, while Adriana Behar and Shelda defeated the Cubans 21-11, 23-21 to set up an all-Brazilian final.
As with the men's event, the quarterfinals, semifinals and final were broadcast live on local Rhodes television, while the packed stadium was kept well informed of the center-court action thanks to SWATCH's state-of-the-art electronic scoreboards and speed-timing device.
The women players were also treated to a presentation on the Beach facilities for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
A slide show by Nikos Sofianos, Beach Competition Manager for the Athens 2004, and Makis Assimakopoulos, Athens 2004 General Manager for Sports, gave details of the stunning new stadium in construction and it's location in relation to the rest of the Olympic facilities.
There is a tangible air of expectation amongst the Greek population for next year's Olympics and that was highly evident during another successful week of Beach at the Women's Hellas Open. |
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