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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, May 10, 2016 – The Dominican
Republic women’s team is already in Japan warming-up for the
World Olympic Qualification Tournament to be held in Tokyo from
May 14 to 22.
During their preparation and acclimatization, the DR will play
and train with Japanese club teams before their first match,
against Thailand.
Marcos Kwiek’s team are chasing a third appearance at the
Olympic Games under the Brazilian’s leadership; they finished
fifth at the London 2012 Olympic Games and ninth at the Athens
2004 Olympic Games.
“We are confident about our chances of qualifying,” Kwiek said.
“Our squad is complete and all the players are in good physical
condition, so I am expecting good things to happen in Japan.
“The team has worked very hard on the different tactics designed
for the rivals we are going to be facing in Japan and the
athletes playing in foreign leagues reported on time to be
ready.”
Star players
Captain and prolific points scorer Bethania de la Cruz has been
included in the squad after recovering from the shoulder injury
that kept her out of action almost a year.
The Dominican squad also includes renowned libero Brenda
Castillo and Brayelin Martinez, who was named MVP when the
Dominican Republic won the 2015 FIVB Women’s U20 World
Championship in Puerto Rico.
“Bethania is in good shape but still needs to get into rhythm
since she has been away for a while,” Kwiek said. “We are
counting on all the players of the team that finished in fifth
place at the FIVB World Championship in Italy. If they perform
to their capabilities, we will be in good shape to qualify for
Rio de Janeiro.
“I like our combination of experienced players with emerging,
talented athletes. We have Annerys Vargas and Prisilla Rivera,
who have been with the team since 2002, and players like
middle-blocker Jineiry Martinez [Brayelin’s sister] who is only
18 years old but very capable.”
The FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Olympic Qualification
Tournament will take place at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium with
the participation of hosts Japan, Korea, Thailand and Kazakhstan
from the Asian Confederation, plus Italy and the Netherlands
from Europe. Peru represent South America and the Dominican
Republic the NORCECA Confederation.
The best-ranked Asian team plus the next top three teams will
qualify for the Olympic Games. |
