World no. 19 Egypt gave everything they had, but the star-studded Poland team were too much to handle in their opening game in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Add some winning Polish flavor in Paris.
World no. 1 Poland takes care of business in its opening match in the 2024 Paris Games, grounding Egypt in straight sets, 25-21, 25-19 and 25-13 on early Sunday morning, (PH time) July 28.
The Poles, who aim to end a 48-year Olympic gold drought, now join Italy atop Group B after the Azzurri carved out a four-set win over Brazil earlier.
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Poland pretty much took control in the final set and ended the game on a 6-0 run from 19-13 to complete the sweep in under an hour and 12 minutes.
It was a close encounter in the first two sets, with Egypt keeping toe-to-toe with the heavily-favored Poland before the Poles proved steadier down the stretch for a commanding 2-0 set lead.
Poland imposed their might in the offensive end, holding a 40-28 total attack-point edge alongside eight service aces compared to Egypt’s one.
One of the heavy favorites to win gold in Paris 2024, the Poles are on a mission to end a rather underwhelming performance in the past Olympics, having been eliminated at the quarterfinals stage in the last five ditions.
Winning all seven of its matches at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in addition to placing third at the 2024 Volleyball Nations League (VNL), they are primed to finally climb back atop the podium.
Wilfredo Leon paced the Poles with a team-high 13 points, built on nine attacks, one block and three aces. Meanwhile, middle blocker Mateusz Bieniek normed 12 markers and Tomasz Fornal logged in nine points.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Masoud was the lone bright up twin-digit outing with 14 points.
Poland gears up against Brazil, who lost earlier against Italy, on July 31, Wednesday.
Story Summary:
- World no. 1 Poland opened its Paris 2024 campaign with a dominant straight-set victory over Egypt (25-21, 25-19, 25-13), showcasing the Poles' offensive strength with a 40-28 attack-point edge and eight service aces.
- The Poles aim to end a 48-year Olympic gold drought, joining Italy atop Group B after their win over Brazil, and remain heavy favorites to win gold after a strong performance at the Olympic Qualification Tournament and the 2024 Volleyball Nations League.
- Wilfredo Leon led Poland with 13 points, supported by Mateusz Bieniek's 12 and Tomasz Fornal's nine, while Mohamed Masoud was Egypt's standout with 14 points; Poland now prepares to face Brazil on July 31.
[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital team. The summary was generated by AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]