Derby d’Italia the standout tie, as round of 16 gets underway

Rio de Janeiro, August 11, 2016 – Italian loyalties will be split on the first day of the round 16 when the country’s two sides clash at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games in the Copacabana Beach Arena on Friday. 

Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula went through as group winners, ahead of number one seeds Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt. In contrast their compatriots Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicola finished third in their group and had to negotiate their way through the lucky loser round, where they defeated Poland’s multi-age group champions Bartosz Losiak and Piotr Kantor. 

They have previously met three times in the past with Ranghieri and Carambula winning all three encounters. 

Cuba’s Nivaldo Diaz and Sergio Gonzalez will face another test of their credentials when they take on Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst. 

The sides will meet for the first time and while the Cubans will be full of confidence after going through pool play undefeated, the Austrians are one of the most experienced teams in the tournament and are beginning to show the type of form that earned them silver at the Porec Major Series at the start of the month. 

Konstantin Semenov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov are another unbeaten team and they will play Qatar’s Jefferson Pereira and Cherif Younousse. 

The Russians have faced the Qataris twice in the past and have come out on top each time. Like the Cubans Semenov and Krasilnikov will be in confident mood, but the crowd are likely to be supporting the Rio-born Jefferson. 

Reinder Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst were one of the three teams that lost to Semenov and Krasilnikov and as such will be seeking a return to form when they take on Olympic debutants Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen. 

The Dutch pair have twice beaten the Mexicans, but they both go into their clash having won two and lost one in pool play.