Fabiana Claudino
Brazil’s men and women once against showed that they know how to peak for the big occasion when they claimed the gold medals at the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup in Japan. The sixth edition of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Grand Champions Cup was held from November 12 to 17 in Japan’s cities of Nagoya and Tokyo and was followed soon after by the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Grand Champions Cup from November 19 to 24 in Kyoto and Tokyo.
The competition featured six teams in both the men’s and women’s competition, comprising the hosts, the four 2013 Continental Champions from continents whose teams reached the highest ranking in the preceding Olympic Games and a wild-card team, jointly selected by the FIVB, the Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) and the Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV). Africa did not have an automatic spot in the tournament having finished the 2012 Olympic Games as the lowest-ranked confederation amongst the five.
Brazil went into the men’s tournament as the red-hot favourites, having won three editions of the quadrennial World Grand Champions Cup (1997, 2005 and 2009). Only Italy and Cuba have stopped the South American powerhouse from totally dominating the competition since the World Grand Champions Cup was first introduced in 1993.
It was a similar story for their female counterparts who were hoping to add the World Grand Champions Cup title to their 2012 Olympic Games gold medal and FIVB World Grand Prix victory from earlier in the year. With the absence of reigning champions Italy, the path was wide open for Brazil to add the one missing trophy from their cabinet.
In the women’s tournament Brazil were up against hosts Russia, USA , Japan, Dominican Republic and Thailand, while the men faced Olympic champions Russia, Italy, Iran,United States and Japan.
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