Following the four quarterfinal matches played on August 6 and 7 at Champ de Mars beneath the Eiffel Tower, the field for men’s beach volleyball at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 has been reduced.
Table of Contents
The bronze medalists from Tokyo 2020, Qatar, will play Sweden in the semi-finals, while the reigning Olympic winners, Norway, will play Germany. These matches take place on Thursday, August 8.
Germany defeats the Netherlands 2-0.
The Netherlands’ Stefan Boermans and Yorrick De Groot were defeated by the ferocious German combo of Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler, who advanced into the semi-finals.
“We did pretty good, the way we started, the fighting spirit,” Boermans remarked. “We wanted to get better after making a comeback in the opening set. Sadly, we didn’t, and their performance was superior. They were worthy winners.
Sweden defeats Brazil 2-0
In their third Olympics, Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves Oliveira Junior and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci were soundly defeated by Sweden’s Jonatan Hellvig and David Ahman.
Goncalves Oliveira Junior, a 22-year-old Swede, was at the peak of his game in this quarterfinal encounter when he defeated the Brazilian men’s duo in straight sets with a deadly “Swedish jump-set,” despite smashing the fastest serve of the day at 94 km/h.
After the game, the Brazilians acknowledged that in order to continue dominating men’s beach volleyball, the “old-school” Brazilian style would need to “evolve.”
Norway defeats Spain 2-0, Beach volleyball
In their sixth and last Olympic Games, Spain’s Pablo Herrera Allepuz was not going to have a fairytale departure from defending champions Anders Berntsen Mol of Norway and Christian Sandlie Soerum of Sweden.
The Norwegian pair easily won the match and advanced to the beach volleyball semi-finals, taking out his partner Adrian Gavira Collado in straight sets. Herrera Allepuz, 42, was certain that this marked the end of his relationship.
“I believe I have done it well; I think you have to know when to do it and you have to finish on a high,” he remarked.
USA loses against Qatar 2-0
American first-timers Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh were defeated 2-0 by the seasoned team of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar, who took home the bronze in Tokyo 2020.
“Everyone here is a really class team when you get to the quarterfinals,” Benesh remarked, clearly pleased with their first Olympic achievement.
This competition has probably taught us more than any other that we have participated in. That will support us in the future.
Matchups for the men’s beach volleyball semifinals on Thursday, August 8.
Norway versus Germany 🏐
Sweden versus Qatar🏐