RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Brazilian gold medal hopes Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas crushed Argentina in straight sets to qualify for the final 16, drawing on a lethal serve and the rapturous home crowd to seal an easy win.
A huge spike from Seixas sent the sand swirling on the first point and set the tone for a 21-11, 21-17 victory in just 40 minutes.
Argentina’s Ana Gallay and Georgina Klug fought hard in the second set, taking the lead early on. But a thunderous serve from Seixas to level at 9-9 shifted the momentum back in favour of the Brazilians.
Seixas followed up with a sequence of aces that brought the crowd to their feet. ”I am Brazilian, with much pride and much love,” they sang in full voice, with many waving the green and yellow national flag.
Another strong serve by Seixas finished the match. The Brazilian pair then waved kisses to the crowd before embracing fans in the front row and posing for selfies.
”We came into this game calmer… Barbara and I have played together for six years, there’s great chemistry between us and we always know where the other is,” Bednarczuk told Reuters after the match. ”We didn’t want to give them a chance.”
