E. Bello and J. Rocha claim bronze at Beach Pro Tour Features in Burundi

The Beach Pro Tour Features was Enrique’s first world tour tournament with the pair being drawn into pool C featuring pairs from Burundi, Rwanda and Norway. 

Winning their first game confidently against Rwanda the men gained confidence for the following game against Norway which they showed their dominance winning in straight sets (21-17, 21-8). By winning both matches Josue and Enrique qualified for the quarterfinals without having to play a third pool match. 

Their quarterfinal match-up was against Morocco who had beaten Kenya and Germany in their pool matches. The match showed the England pair's resilience and determination with the second set going to a tie back which they won (25-23). 

This set them up for a semi-final match against the strong opposition of Peemuller and Rietschel. Bello and Rocha came out the gate fast winning the first set (21-15) with the Germans then matching them in the second set with the score (15 - 21) taking it to a final set. The pair showed great resilience and just missed out on a final place losing (11 - 15). However, this still gave them a chance at a bronze medal against some very strong competition. 

The bronze medal match was against Sweeden who sadly picked up an injury in their semi-final match against Isreal. This meant the Swedes forfeited the match giving the bronze medal to the English pair.

A quote from Enrique’s social media said ‘Feeling really proud of this achievement as a lot of hard work has been put into preparation and training for this result.’