After Kelly Cheng & Sara Hughes’ Exit, Team USA Could Still Clinch a Beach Volleyball Medal at Paris Olympics

The beaches have turned cold in the United States. Despite being one of the top-ranked duos in the Olympics, Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes have become a victim of a massive upset. From the beginning, things looked shaky for the duo. However, their defeat has cast a huge shadow over the United States’ beach volleyball dreams. After all, this is the sport they’ve dominated in. But now they’re in a precarious situation.

Things look pretty bleak for Cheng and Hughes from the start. For instance, they weren’t their usual dominating selves. The duo, at one point, went behind by 14-10. Though they woke up then to get a 3-0 run, the Swiss duo had their number from the beginning. And minute by minute, the American duo lost its grip on the game as well as the Olympic medal. But does it mean that the volleyball dreams are over for the country? Yes, at least for women it does.

Cheng and Hughes aren’t the only ones to lose. USA’s Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss too lost to Canad in the Round of 16 on Monday. With both the teams out, the Paris Olympics have become historical, albeit not for a good reason. This is the first time since 2000 that USA’s women’s beach volleyball team won’t be standing on the Olympic podium. However, that doesn’t mean that the dream is over.

The men still have a chance to get a podium finish in beach volleyball. Andrew Benesh and Miles Partain will be going against Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar in the quarter-finals later in the day. If the US duo wins the game, hopes for the podium will remain high. So while the women may have faced a shocking upset, the man can still bring a medal home. 

Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes rue missed opportunities

While the USA can heap a sigh of relief because it still has a chance for glory, Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes remain quite distressed. Not only did they lose unexpectedly but they’re the ones who’ll be remembered as being those who ended the country’s streak of beach volleyball medals. Perhaps that is why when Cheng was asked about her feelings, she lamented the missed opportunity. After all, they were coming off a hot start and were looking fully in their groove before this sudden break halted their progress.

“I so appreciate and I’ve loved to see the legacy of the United States and beach volleyball and would have loved to continue that legacy,” Cheng said. “It wasn’t our time.” That is a disheartening situation, but that’s what sports are all about. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. As for Americans, they might be missing that their loss ends here. Within a few hours, they’ll have a chance at glory again. Hopefully, this time, the players won’t face any major upset. Because if they do, it’ll be a big shock for volleyball fans all over the globe.