All-conquering Beijing Olympic gold medalists Brazil brushed aside Japan to romp to a record eighth title at the World Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament on Sunday.
The Brazilians, who did not lose a single match in the three qualifying weeks, chalked up a 25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 25-19 victory to complete five straight wins out of five in the six-team round robin final tournament.
Welissa Gonzaga scored the team’s best haul of 19 points, while Sheilla Castro chipped in with 16 points, leading Brazil to win the top prize of US$200,000.
“We struggled in the beginning, especially against Japanese serves, because they are different from our usual opponents. But in the end, we were able to clinch the title,” Brazilian captain Danielle Lins said. “I’m really happy that we, with these new players, made it.”
Brazil coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes said it was important for his “new generation” team to play tough matches.
It was a double victory for Castro, who received the most valuable player’s award and an extra prize of US$15,000.
“This is a victory that everybody — players, coaches and staff — fought for it together,” Castro said.
Earlier, world champions Russia saw off the Netherlands 25-20, 25-23, 25-21 to secure second place with a 4-1 win-loss record, while Germany defeated China 25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 25-14.
“Basically, today’s match doesn’t mean a lot for us, but I’m very satisfied that my players performed very well,” Russian coach Vladimir Kuzyutkin said.
“We missed the gold medal after losing to Brazil, but I’m satisfied with the runners-up place in the World Grand Prix. I’m also satisfied that my players did an excellent job,” he said.
The Netherlands missed out on a medal with a 2-3 record, the same as Germany, who took third place thanks to a better points ratio. China and Japan both ended with 1-4, with the hosts finishing bottom of the pile.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS