Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert clinched the last knockout round spot at the men’s Olympic beach volleyball tournament by defeating Remi Bassereau and Julien Lyneel 2-0 (21-16, 22-20) in a crucial Pool C match. Despite finishing third in their pool with a 1-2 record, the Australians edged out the French duo, who were eliminated from contention.
Earlier, top-seeded Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler topped Pool C with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) win over Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak. The Norwegian pair, undefeated in the pool stage, showcased strong performances with Ehlers contributing seven blocks and an ace.
In other pool action, defending champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum topped Pool B with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) victory over Steven van de Velde and Matthew Immers. Meanwhile, in Pool E, Evandro Oliveira and Arthur Mariano of Brazil upset fifth-seeded Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner 2-0 (21-18, 21-16), ending the Czech team’s unbeaten streak.
As pool play concluded, Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig, along with Brazil’s George Wanderley and Andre Stein, advanced directly to the eighthfinals as the best third-placed teams. The sixteenthfinals will feature Canada’s Samuel Schachter and Daniel Dearing against Chile’s Marco Grimalt and Esteban Grimalt, and Hodges and Schubert facing USA’s Miles Evans and Chase Budinger
