Sandra Pires (L) and Leila are confident about their debut on the Circuit

Sports Journal

The duo of Leila and Sandra Pires travels this afternoon to Adelaide, Australia, for the first stage of the World Tour. The duo, who are competing with Flamengo, aim to perform well in the competition with an eye on a spot at the Beijing Olympics. Their debut will be against Brazilians Maria Clara and Carolina.

“We did special preparation thinking about Maria Clara and Carolina in our last training sessions,” commented Sandra Pires, who won gold at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Australia brings back fond memories for the player. She has won three medals in world circuit events held there. She won gold in 1997 and silver in 1995, both alongside Jackeline. In 2000, she took bronze with Adriana Samuel.

With Leila, Sandra Pires hopes to maintain her good results and overcome the lack of chemistry by gaining knowledge of her rivals.

"We watched videos of our opponents, because it's always good to know who you're going to face. We still have to improve as a team, and we need to talk more, because we're a new team," said the player.

balance

In the men's competition, Alison and Bernardo also make their world circuit debut in Adelaide. The duo travels on Friday, buoyed by their strong performance at the Campo Grande stage of the national circuit, where they finished fourth.

The two are ready for their debut in pro-qualifying as they have sought to adapt to the differences between the world and national circuits.

The Adelaide stage of the World Cup will take place between the 25th and 30th, on Glenelg beach.

Brazil has the world champion pairs: Ricardo and Emanuel (men) and Juliana and Larissa (women).