Pļaviņš and Fokerots Win Third Straight, Reach Round of 16 at Prestigious Elite 16 Tournament
Latvian beach volleyball duo Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots secured their third consecutive victory at the Elite 16 event in Switzerland, advancing to the round of 16 as group winners.
Second-seeded Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots defeated Brazilian pair André Loyola Stein and Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho (seeded 11th) 2-1 (21:18, 15:21, 15:11) in their third Group B match on Thursday. With three wins in three matches, the Latvians finished first in the group and earned a spot in the round of 16. The knockout stage begins on Friday.
Earlier in the tournament, Pļaviņš and Fokerots beat Belgian duo Joppe van Langendonck and Kian Verckauteren (23rd) 2-0 (23:21, 21:17) in their opening match on Wednesday, followed by a 2-1 (19:21, 21:15, 15:13) victory over Italians Samuele Cottafava and Gianluca Dal Corso.
In the women's competition, Tīna Graudiņa and Līva Ēbere (seeded 18th) won their first Group F match 2-0 (24:22, 21:16) against Dutch duo Raisa Schoon and Katja Stam (7th), then defeated Paris Olympic bronze medalists and two-time European champions Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli 2-1 (17:21, 21:13, 15:10). On Friday, the Latvians will face Japanese pair Reika Murakami and Asami Shiba (19th), who qualified from the preliminary rounds, in their final group match.
The tournament in Switzerland concludes on Sunday. The 'Pro Beach Tour' ranking features 'Elite 16' as the top tier, followed by 'Challenge' and 'Futures' events.
