Cuban volleyball duo wins gold in Russian arenas

In a difficult final match against the top-ranked Russian duo that took part in the Kazan stop, the main Cuban duo of Noslen Diaz and Jorge Luis Alayo won in three sets to take their first gold medal in the National Championship of that European country.

The final scoreboard was 2-1 (21-16, 15-21, 15-11) against Alexey Arkhipov and Dmitry Veretyuk (first duo of Obninsk), a result that completed the undefeated transit of our representatives through this event.

This is the first title won by Diaz and Alayo in the Russian circuit, as the previous year (2023) they won two bronze medals in the same number of appearances.

The female duo of Yenifer Rivera and Maykelin Drik, as well as the male duo of Damian Gomez and Eblis Veranes from Guantanamo, also participated for Cuba in this stop in Kazan, both finishing between the 9th and 16th places.

Now the Antillean delegation will move to the city of Anapa to dispute between September 5 and 8 the final stop of this Russian circuit. We will continue updating through Cubavisión Internacional.

They already finished runners-up at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in beach volleyball, but now they are shining like never before on the world's biggest sporting stage, after winning their first two matches in their Games debut. First against the United States and then against Brazil. In other words: against two powerhouses.

This has put them in the sights of Cuban fans, who are in the process of searching for new idols, since after Paris 2024 two sport legends will retire: Idalys Ortiz (judo) and Mijaín López (wrestling).

In this process, Alayo, 23, and Noslen Diaz, 21, have placed themselves not only under the gaze of the Eiffel Tower, where the beach volleyball competition is being held, but also under the gaze of Cuba.

Alayo thanks the Cuban people and expects success in the Games on several fronts: "From the Cuban delegation I expect the same as always: the combativeness that characterizes us Cubans, even though we are a small country, giving everything, always being in a well marked place. And we are going to leave everything in the sense of combativeness and struggle so that the Cuban people will always be happy with us".

Jorge Luis' personality has already been embodied in the Paris 2024 arena: the Cuban player is a star cheerleader, not only for his game, but also for how he encourages the public to cheer.

"In the games I always ask for applause, I always ask the public to shout because it's something that motivates me, something that drives me, something that gives me strength and doesn't let me give up. And so far it has always been like that and it will always be like that", he assumes.

Alayo also hopes that this spirit will propel them to the medals at the Olympic Games, although he prefers to be cautious for the moment: "We are following the same strategy as in the Pan American Games: take it step by step, without getting ahead of ourselves".

The following pairs participated in the beach volleyball tournament in Kazan, Russia:

Men's Doubles

Noslen Diaz and Jorge Luis Alayo (Cuba): Advanced to the final of the tournament after defeating Ivan Chuprinov and Maxim Sivolap (second Moscow Academy duo) in the quarterfinals and Petr Bakhnar and Vladislav Panchenko (first Moscow Academy duo) in the semifinals. They lost in the final to Alexey Arkhipov and Dmitry Veretyuk (first duo from Obninsk).

The beach volleyball tournament in Kazan has been a significant event, especially for Cuban athletes looking to make their mark on the international stage and secure their place.