Rome, Italy, February 28, 2020 – Olympic silver medallists Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo have been enjoying the warmth of Florida and the chance to train alongside two of their rivals in the coming season.
The Italian pair have been training and spending time off the court with USA’s Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena at Daytona Beach as they prepare for the resumption of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
Nicolai and Lupo lost to Brazil’s Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games gold medal match, and they are on course for a place at Tokyo 2020.
In September 2019 the pair ensured that Italy would have one pair at the event that will take place in Shiokaze Park and run from July 25 to August 8 by winning the FIVB Tokyo Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualification Tournament.
There is also the chance of qualifying if they break into the top 15 by the end of the Rome 5-Star tournament on June 14. National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are allowed two teams per gender and the top 15 on June 14 will qualify for Tokyo 2020.
Nicolai and Lupo are next in action at the 4-Star Katara Open in Doha from March 8-13, where they will try to improve on their best result in 2019 which was a fourth-place finish at the Gstaad 5-Star.
In Doha they are seeded fifth, while their Stateside hosts Dalhausser and Lucena are seeded fourth.
Read more: Grimalt and Grimalt to return to defend Doha title
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Quick links:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Doha
FIVB.com - Beach volleyball
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