Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 12, 2016 – Russia’s Konstantin Semenov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov progressed to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games quarterfinals after they defeated Qatar’s Jefferson Pereira and Cherif Younousse 2-0 (21-13, 21-13) at the Copacabana Beach Arena on Friday.
Here’s what they said after the match…
Konstantin Semenov, Russia
“We were up against a tough opponent, but we were very serious before the game. We worked on all elements of our game, setting really good blocks and having good defence. That's why we are great.
“All victories for Russians are important. For the history of Russia, we are so far and we have never been in the quarterfinals. It's a great step for us and we hope it's not the last achievement for our country.”
Jefferson Pereira, Qatar
“We didn't play very good today, but the Russian team is very strong.
“We had a good tournament, and we are happy about the tournament, but we are upset because we lost right now.
“I think we made something huge now we can start to develop the sport in Qatar and the kids can start to play the sport. This is important to us, to raise the sport in Qatar.”
Cherif Younousse, Qatar
“The people. I'm really going to miss this kind of competition. I don't know if I'll ever play in this kind of competition again. I will never forget this moment in my life.
“Until here, I am very proud. We could have made the quarterfinals. I'm very happy and I'm very proud of our team.”