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**truebluefan** · 04-17-2008, 07:18 PM

Discuss event in here.

**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 05:22 PM

Second-seeded Harley Marques and Pedro Salgado of Brazil captured the US$350,000 China Shanghai Jinshan Open gold medal here Saturday afternoon by defeating a team from the host country before a capacity crowd of 3,500.

Facing fourth-seeded Wu Penggen and Xu Linyin of China for the second-time this season in a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour gold medal match, Harley and Salgado scored a 21-16 and 21-16 win in 44 minutes to successfully defend their title while sharing the $28,000 first-place prize.

In addition to capturing their fifth SWATCH title in 18 FIVB events, Harley and Salgado collected 60 more points towards qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympics where they currently rank as the third men’s team from their country on the Summer Games list based on their best eight SWATCH-FIVB World Tour finishes since the start of the process in May 2007.

Earlier Saturday Cunha and Franco upset Marcio Araujo and Fabio in the All-Brazilian bronze medal match 23-21 and 21-15 in 49 minutes to split $14,000 for third-place.

In defeating the Wu and Xu for the fourth-straight time on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour, Harley and Salgado validated their most recent success against the Chinese as the Brazilians defeated their Saturday opponent for the Australian gold medal at the end of March in Adelaide 23-21 and 21-12.

“The Chinese are improving with every match and gaining a lot of confidence,” added Harley. “They are a tough team to play. We have almost been flawless in our matches against them. That is what it takes to win at this level as you must make very few mistakes against all the talented teams on this tour.”

Despite placing second, Wu and Xu shared $19,500 for their second-place finish. Saturday’s medal was their fourth in 30 SWATCH starts as Wu and Xu are the only Chinese men’s team to place on a FIVB Beach Volleyball podium. .

Wu and Xu also became the first Chinese men’s team to compete in the China Shanghai Jinshan Open “final four” as the pair placed ninth in 2006 and fifth last season after being eliminated by Dmitri Barsouk and Igor Kolodinsky, the third-ranked team on the Beijing Olympic list.

**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 05:23 PM

China’s only hope to win the gold medal at the China Shanghai Jinshan Open was broken as Xue Chen and Zhang Xi were defeated by top-seeded Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca in straight sets in one of the semifinals here on Saturday.

Juliana and Larissa advanced to the finals with a 26-24 and 21-14 win in 43 minutes over third-seeded Xue and Zhang in a match that featured former China Shanghai Jinshan Open champions.

Juliana and Larissa, who advanced to the semi-finals with a 21-15 and 21-13 win in 43 minutes earlier Saturday over sixth-seeded Tamsin Barnett and Natalie Cook of Australia, won the 2005 Jinshan crown and the Chinese were the gold medal winners in 2006 when Xue was only 17.

Juliana and Larissa will play against fourth-seeded Talita Antunes and Renata Ribeiro for the $28,000 first-place prize. Talita and Renata, who snapped a seven-match losing streak to Juliana and Larissa Friday with a 21-19 and 21-19 victory in the winner’s bracket quarter-finals, advanced to their 10th SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal match by defeating fifth-seeded Shelda Bede and Ana Paula Connelly of Brazil 17-21, 21-17 and 15-7 in 48 minutes.

Shelda and Ana Paula, who had to win three elimination matches to reach the semi-finals, dropped a 21-13 and 24-22 decision to Talita and Renata in the third-round of the winner’s bracket Friday.

“That a great win for us,” said the 26 year old Renata. “Shelda and Ana Paula will make a serious run at us for the second Brazilian berth in the Olympics. They are so experienced and competent on the sand. Shelda and Ana Paula played great in the first set, but once we calmed down, we were able to play better and eliminated our mistakes.”

**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 05:26 PM

"It's a long season and we have been playing since February," said the 24-year old Felisberta.

"This was our eighth tournament this season, including two on the world tour. We did not play with the same energy as previous events. We were disappointed with the result. But we'll be more prepared for the next tournament in Seoul in two weeks," she added.

Sunday's finale was a replay of the same two teams, which vied for the season's first SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal at the end of March in Australia, where Juliana and Larissa defeated Talita and Renata 2-1 to win the gold medal.

As to the competition at the Beijing Olympics, the Brazilians said the teams from the United States, Germany, Russia and China were their biggest opponents.

"Every team that enters the Beijing Olympics has the opportunity to win the gold medal," said Juliana.

In the match for the bronze medal on Sunday, Xue Chen/Zhang Xi of China won over Brazilians Shelda Bede/Ana Paula Connelly 2-0.

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