Main draw rounds of the China Shanghai Jinshan Open of the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour kicked off on Wednesday as players from 32 countries will compete to share the 350,000 U.S. dollar prize for the event.
A total of 50 men's and 60 women's teams from 32 countries will play in the Open from April 28 to May 4 in the seaside Jinshan district of Shanghai. The first two days were for qualification competitions.
The final eight berths in the competition will share a prize of 350,000 dollars. The champions in each gender will be awarded 28,000 dollars.
While the men's competition start main draws Wednesday leading to Friday's semifinals and Saturday's medal matches, the women's qualifier is Wednesday to determine the final eight tandems for the 32-team main draw that begins Thursday with a 32-match schedule.
The China Shanghai Jinshan Open will also be the 19th qualifying competition for the Beijing 2008 Olympics as the process started in May 2007 and concludes July 20, 2008 in Marseille, France to determine the 24 teams per gender for the Olympics. A team's best eight finishes on the FIVB World Tour or sanctioned continental championships will count during the process.
(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2008)