Pļaviņš and Fokerots reach Rio de Janeiro Elite 16 quarterfinals

Latvian beach volleyball players Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots advanced to the quarterfinals of the Elite 16 tournament in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. The second-seeded Latvian pair defeated Israel's Kevin Kuzmičovs and Eylon Elazar, the seventh seeds, 2-0 (21:13, 21:19) in the Round of 16.

Group stage

Earlier, the Latvians won all three matches in Group B. They beat Brazil's Lucas Sampaio and João Pedro, seeded 23rd, 2-0 (21:12, 21:17), then overcame Italians Samueli Cotafava and Gianluca dal Corso (14th) 2-0 (21:17, 38:36), and finished the group with a 2-1 (17:21, 21:17, 15:13) victory over Australians Thomas Hodges and Ben Hood (11th), who had advanced through qualifying.

The Latvians will play their quarterfinal match later on Saturday. They have already earned 760 world ranking points for their performance.