New Zealand beach volleyballing brothers Sam and Ben O'Dea have proved they can still hang with the best, but a path to the Tokyo Olympics remains slightly in limbo.
The duo are ranked 148th in the world, but defeated the 25th-ranked Chilean team in the hub in Cancun.
"They're a world-class team, they've beaten all the top teams in the world," Sam told 1 NEWS.
"We've done it the hard way, but that was wicked. It was good to get that result and solidify our result in the main draw."
The O'Deas have been in Cancun to get valuable matches under their belts against the world's best, and finished 17th in the third and final tournament in Mexico.
Ben is still overcoming shoulder surgery, and regular, long games have given it the test it has needed.
"It's a lot better than it has been in previous years particularly but I have to be disciplined with it just because these tournaments are important but obviously we've got this Olympic qualifier in Bangkok and being 100 per cent for that is very important," Ben said.
However, their path to that is unsure, with a date yet to be set due to the fluid Covid situation, and uncertainty about where they can play leading into it.
"The calendar is still a lot up in the air, so we're just trying to play as many tournaments as we can. The Continental Cup, the Olympic qualifier is still not 100 per cent confirmed or where it is still so we're just hanging out," Sam said.
SHARE ME