Rio Olympics: Beach volleyball the major draw in Brazil as fans are treated to some thrilling clashes at Copacabana Beach
IT was one of London 2012’s major highlights, and beach volleyball is still proving to be a smash hit with the Olympics crowd after punters packed into the Beach Volleyball Arena on Copacabana Beach on Day Two of Rio 2016.
Fans were treated to some thrilling clashes on the first day, with teams from Brazil, Czech Republic, USA and Qatar all in action.
And viewers were not left disappointed with the offerings on show as a number of stars took to the sand for some women’s beach volleyball action.
Canadian pair Pavan and Bansley cruised to a 2-0 win over Dutch duo Van Gestel and Van der Vlist, leaving them joint-top of Pool E alongside Switzerland.
Heidrich and Zumkehr kept pace with their Canadian rivals after beating Germany’s Borgey and Buthe 2-0.
However, fellow Germans Ludwig and Walkenhorst eased past Egypt’s Meawad and Elghobashy 2-0 as Netherlands’ Meppelink and Van Iersel beat Venezuela’s Pazo and Agudo by the same score.
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But there were a number of empty seats for Australia’s routine win against Costa Rica in Pool F’s other encounter, with Bawden and Clancy making light work of Charles and Alfaro.
Meanwhile, the men’s beach volleyball saw a number of sides in action as US stars Dalhausser and Lucena secured a 2-0 victory against Tunisia’s Naceur and Belhaj Salah.
There was also some good clashes to be found in Netherlands’ 2-0 win against Chile, with Nummerdor and Vanerhorst setting up an exciting match against the Grimalt cousins.