Brazilians Talita Antunes and Renata Ribeiro defeat their compatriots Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca at the beach volleyball final of China Shanghai Jinshan Open on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Talita and Renata scored a 21-18 and 22-20 win in 41 minutes over their rivals to capture their fifth SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal and share the 28,000 U.S. dollars first-place prize.
"This is an accomplishment for us," said the 26-year old Ribeiro, who was the oldest player on the court.
"We played very well and we are delighted to be competing at such a high level to start the 2008 season," she said.
"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.
(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2008)