Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 15, 2016 – Russia’s Konstantin Semenov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov reached the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games men’s semifinals with a 2-1 (22-20, 22-24, 18-16) win over Cuba’s Nivaldo Diaz and Sergio Gonzalez at Copacabana Beach Arena on Monday.
Here’s what they said after the match….
Konstantin Semenov
“It was a really tough game. It really pushed our emotions to the limit, but we are glad we won and through to the semifinals.
“It feels like a miracle. We haven’t come down yet after we struggled through match ball after match ball.
“So far that was the strongest team that we have encountered. All teams are strong, but they could have gone beyond the quarterfinals. We had to really fight hard against them.”
Sergio Gonzalez
“The Russians played really well in defence and their block was very good. We thought were in the game, but at some points the Russians just raised their game.
“This Olympics has been a great taste of top level action for us. I believe we have what is needed to play on the (FIVB Beach Volleyball) World Tour and will work very hard to qualify for the next World Championships and Olympics.”
Quick links - FIVB in Rio: