Lausanne, Switzerland, April 15, 2015 - The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2015 begins in Fuzhou, China on Tuesday and Venezuela’s Norisbeth Agudo says the players have some tough battles ahead of them.
The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Fuzhou Open 2015, which will take place from April 21-26, will feature three Venezuelan teams, with Jesus Villafane/Jackson Henríquez and Carlos Rangel/Leonard Colina in the men’s section, and Agudo and Olaya Pazo representing their country in the women’s competition.
“It’s the first stop on a long road that takes in the nationals, the World Championships and qualifiers for the 2016 Rio Olympics,” said Agudo at a training camp in Venezuela.
Agudo and Pazo have been training under coach Mauro Hernández at the Complejo Deportivo Bicentenario in Naguanagua. The same sports complex hosted the Olympic qualifiers that sent Villafane and Igor Hernández to London 2012 and now serves as a training base for Venezuela’s beach volleyball athletes.
Agudo, who has been recovering from a minor injury, is also looking ahead to a challenging event at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships The Netherlands 2015 later this year, where she and partner Pazo have been drawn in Pool D.
"It's a very tough group,” she said. “We have Germany, who are always among the top teams; the Czech Republic, who we’ve played before; and Uruguay, who we know are good but may give us our best chance.”
Agudo in action at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Sao Paulo Grand Slam in 2014
The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships will take place from June 26 through to July 5 and feature 96 teams. Agudo and Pazo will represent Venezuela in the women’s competition, while the South American country's men will be represented by Villafane and Henríquez.
Related information:Fuzhou Open – Women’s main drawFuzhou Open - Men's main drawFIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships The Netherlands 2015 – Women’s poolsFIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships The Netherlands 2015 – Men’s pools