Press Release

Budva, Serbia and Montenegro, May 27, 2004 - Satoshi Watanabe and Katsuhira Shiratori of Japan enjoyed a repeat of their Salvador triumph over Jody Holden and Ahren Cadieux of Canada on Thursday as the Japanese notched up a precious win to advance to the main draw of the 2004 Swatch - FIVB World Tour Open event in Budva.

It took team Watanabe-Shiratori 39 minutes to obtain their two sets to nil win (21-16, 21-18).
"In Brazil we played and won against the same team so we knew what we had to do to this time to repeat that performance," said Watanabe. "We didn't have any special tactics in the game, Shiatori added. "We played our best and that was good enough for us."

Now safely placed in the main draw, what's next for these Japanese players? "We've never finished higher than 25th in the Olympic qualifying events," said the 27-year-old Shiratori. "So for us to go further than that would be fantastic."

As well as being teammates, the Japanese also claim to be very good friends and they are enjoying their time here in Budva. "It's a great location for Beach Volleyball," the Tokyo based Watanebe stated. "It's really very beautiful and scenic."