Each team in the tournament in Jurmala has the highest goals / Article

The “Beach Pro Tour – Elite 16” qualifying tournament will start on Wednesday, but the main event is scheduled to start a day later. Six Latvian pairs will start in the tournament, three of whom will be trained by Finsters. He is supervised by Aleksandrs Samoilovs / Jānis Šmēdiņš, Ardis Bedrītis and Artūrs Rinkevičs, as well as Varvara Brailko and Deniela Konstantinova.

“I can’t say much about the goals, because each team has the highest goals, and that’s a matter of course,” Finster said. “As for the preparations with Alexander and Jānis, Ardis and Arthur, we have been to several camps. This season has had good results, although the latter have not been so successful. tournament. “

He also pointed out that the duo Bedrītis / Rinkevičs, who were able to qualify for the main competition in the last “Challenger” tournament, can also win the qualification round in this tournament if they can show their best game on the cards.

Speaking about the girls over Brailko / Konstantinov, the coach pointed out that they do not have as much experience in high-level tournaments yet.

“They don’t have that much experience, but we have to say that there is such a tournament in Latvia as well and these teams have the opportunity to gain experience against high-ranking players. This is definitely a plus not only for my teams, but also for everyone else,” said Finster. “I’ve heard from other teams that everyone is excited about the stadium. Of course, the weather is the way it is, but it’s promising the sun tomorrow, so everything should be fine.”

Meanwhile, Ju Cao, a spokesman for the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), said he was pleased with the tournament in Jurmala about the current weather.

“We planned to have a good time, but be prepared for any weather,” Cao said. “It is hoped that the holidays will be sunny. Latvia has strong beach volleyball teams, and two duos played in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics. The women’s pair has also shown good results in the previous stages of the season.

Edgars Stobovs, Executive Director of Jūrmala Municipality, also pointed out that Jūrmala has already proven that it can host important tournaments, so this competition will once again show the ability to host high-class tournaments in which the best representatives of their sport participate.

“Since 2014, when beach volleyball tournaments of various levels have been held in Jūrmala, the city has proved that it is well able to organize such events and welcome both guests and players. Thanks to our beach volleyball players, such competitions are organized, so thank you too, and we expect that both the girls ‘and boys’ teams will make it to the finals, “Stobov added.

The director of the tournament Kaspars Timermanis said that all the favorites will be in the tournament, especially the Olympic champions from Norway Anne Mule and Christian Serum and the world champion Canadian Sarah Peven and Melissa Hume-Paredes.

This will be the third tournament of the season in the “Elite 16” series. The first took place in the Mexican city of Rosarito at the end of March, and the second last week in the Czech city of Ostrov.

Tīna Graudiņa and Anastasia Kravčenok in Mexico reached the final, but in Ostrov – until the quarterfinals, while Samoilov and Jānis Šmēdiņš finished in the first tournament in the 13th place and the second in the 21st place.

In the “Elite 16” competition, 16 duets are played, divided into four subgroups, completing a one-round tournament, after which the two best pairs in each group reach the quarterfinals.

A prize fund of USD 150,000 (EUR 140,000) is distributed to both men and women.

It has already been reported that Kravčenoka / Graudiņa and Marta Ozoliņa / Luīze Anna Skrastiņa will play in the main tournament, but Brailko / Konstantinova – in the qualifying competition.

Samoilovs / Šmēdiņš will play in the main event of the men’s competition, but Bedrītis and Rinkevičs, as well as semi-finalists of the Olympic Games Edgars Točs and Kristians Fokerots will compete for a place in the main tournament.

The tournament with the participation of six Latvian duets will take place from June 1 to 5 on Majori beach in Jurmala.

The first level competition in the “Pro Beach Tour” this year is called “Elite 16”, the second in the ranking is “Challenge”, the third – “Futures” competition. In the first “Elite 16” tournament of the season in Mexico, Graudiņa / Kravčenoka won the second place.

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