Germany shock Brazil to win gold

London: Germany`s Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann shocked top-seeded Brazilian pair Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego to win men`s beach volleyball Olympic gold at Horse Guards Parade.

Brink and Reckermann clinched the first set 23-21, before Brazil`s reigning world champions won 21-16 in the second to take the match to a deciding set.

The Germans blew three gold medal points before clinching the final set 16-14 to condemn Brazil to silver.

Latvia beat Netherlands to earn bronze.

Brink and Reckermann`s triumph helped Germany become the first European country to win Olympic gold in the event.

The 2009 world champions opened up a 14-11 final-set lead to close in on gold, before the plucky Brazilians pegged them back to 14-14 when Emanuel levelled with his first ace of the match.

But the German pair showed their resolve to quell any hopes their opponents had of completing a remarkable comeback with two quickfire points.

Earlier on Thursday, Latvia`s Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins won 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-11) against Dutch duo Reinder Nummerdor and Rich Schuil in their bronze medal match.

BDST: 1647 HRS, August 10, 2012
Edited by
Chanchal Ghosh, Newsroom Editor