By Nigel Hunt
LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) – Canada’s Martin Reader enjoyed
the music but failed to hit a winning note as his pairing with
Joshua Binstock lost to Norway’s Tarjei Skarlund and Martin
Spinnangr in the Olympic men’s beach volleyball tournament on
Monday.
“It’s not as hot as other venues, but it’s the best by far.
The music choice and sound system are great,” he said, following
a 2-0 (21-14, 21-18) loss to the Norwegians in Pool F at a cool
but sunny Horse Guards Parade.
“I love the electronic music they play here and they tend to
jam on court and we take energy from that as well,” he added.
Music from Robbie Williams to the Beach Boys is blared out
by loudspeakers during the matches with only brief interludes
while points are contested. Even the team which rakes the sand
try to keep in time with the beat.
The Canadians defeated Britain’s Steven Grotowski and John
Garcia-Thompson in their first match while the Norwegians lost
to Brazilian pairing of Pedro Henrique Cunha and Ricardo Santos.
The British pair face the Brazilians later on Monday.
“We are now on fire. All the nerves of the first game have
gone,” Skarlund told reporters.
Latvia’s flamboyant Aleksandrs Samoilovs, known as the Lion
King because of his wild mane of hair, and his partner Ruslans
Sorokins reached the knockout stage of the tournament with a 2-0
(21-16, 21-10) victory against South Africa in Pool D.
Continued…
