2006 World Championships
Russia set the early pace (FIVB)
07/01/2005
Moscow,
Russia, July 1, 2005 – Hosts Russia showed everyone they
will be tough to beat in the 2006 Women’s World
Championship third round tournament – Europe Pool G
after they completed a convincing 3-0 (25-16, 25-14,
25-21) win over the Czech Republic on the opening day on
Friday. The day’s other match saw Azerbaijan pull off a
wonderful upset in beating Bulgaria 3-0 (25-22, 25-23,
25-22).
Olympic silver medalists Russia are hot favourites for
the tournament and claiming one of two tickets on offer
to the 2006 World Championship Final Round in Japan in
2006. With four teams in the group, the top two sides
will automatically advance to the finals while the third
placed side will have to play in a three-team playoff
for another chance to keep their World Championship
dream alive. Pic: 2.04m tall Ekaterina Gamova scored a game high
22 points
The star of the show once again for Russia was
24-year-old Ekaterina Gamova who scored a game high 22
points. The 2.04m tall universal led the world number
six to victory in just under two hours. Russia just need
to beat second favourites Bulgaria (16) on Saturday to
effectively their place in the next phase. Having
advanced from the second round, the Czech Republic (26)
and Azerbaijen (32) aren’t realistically considered to
be in the frame for the automatic tickets to Japan but
after Friday’s performance, Azerbaijan could surprise
many.
