Georgia beats Russia in beach volleyball
Posted August 12, 2008 11:00 pm
BEIJING -- Cristine Santanna and Andrezza Martins, native Brazilians playing for Georgia at the Olympics, rallied to a three-set victory over Russia, advancing to the medal round and sending a proud message to their adopted and war-torn homeland.
The Georgian team rallied Wednesday from a sloppy 21-10 loss in the first set to win the next two, 22-20 and 15-12, and beat Alexandra Shiryaeva and Natalia Uryadova.
Although they made just a few short visits to the country to obtain their new passports, Santanna and Martins took on the nicknames Saka and Rtvelo -- "Georgia," in Georgian -- out of affection for the land that allowed them to qualify for the Olympics.
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