China, Brazil to Vie for Men's Gold at China Shanghai Open
Harley Marques/Pedro Salgado of Brazil and Wu Penggen/Xu Linyin from China won their semi-final matches here Friday afternoon in the US$350,000 China Shanghai Jinshan Open and will will compete for a gold medal in the final on Saturday.
With three teams from Brazil in a FIVB “final four” for the 46th-time in 210 SWATCH events since the start of the men’s international tour in 1987, the fourth-seeded Wu and Xu spoiled the South Americans bid for all three podium spots for the 23rd-time by defeating seventh-seeded Pedro Cunha and Franco Neto 22-20 and 21-18 in 46 minutes.
The second-seeded Harley and Salgado earned their second-straight trip to a China Shanghai Jinshan Open medal match by out-lasting Brazilian rivals and third-seeded Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes 21-15, 14-14 and 15-11 in 63 minutes.
“We look forward to meeting the Chinese again for a gold medal,” said the 22-year old Salgado, who teamed with Harley to defeat Wu and Xu 23-21 and 21-12 in 46 minutes in the finals of the Adelaide Australia Open March 30.
“It is a thrill for us to play so well this week in front of the Chinese fans and our families,” said the 25-year old Wu. “It is even better to play in two-straight finals. We have worked hard to get to a point where we can compete each week for a medal. This tour is so difficult with a lot of teams capable of winning. We have been fortunate in the first two events this year to play very consistently.”
With China hosting the Beijing 2008 Olympics, Wu and Xu are seeking to finish in the top six qualifiers for the Summer Games in the Chinese capital to earn the No. 1-seed among the 24 teams earning a berth in Beach Volleyball’s most prestigious event. Wu and Xu are currently fourth on the Beijing qualifying list with 4,000 points for their best eight finishes since the start of the Olympic process in May 2007.
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